Le Chiffre (French: [lə ʃifʁ], "The Cypher" or "The Digit") is a fictional character and the main antagonist of Ian Fleming's 1953 novel, Casino Royale.

[4] He is first encountered as an inmate of the Dachau displaced persons camp in the US zone of Allied-occupied Germany in June 1945, where he displayed (possibly simulated) mutism and amnesia.

He gained back speech capability and was transferred to Alsace-Lorraine and Strasbourg (due to some mention he made of them) three months later on a stateless passport.

MI6 also believes the union would serve as a fifth column in the event of a Third World War between NATO and the Eastern Bloc, capable to mobilizing its 50,000 members to seize control of a substantial portion of the French–West German borderlands.

Le Chiffre then goes to the casino Royale-les-Eaux with the union's remaining 25 million francs in funds in an attempt to replace his lost money before the Soviet government notices.

Le Chiffre is suggested to be a genuinely committed Communist, with his MI6 dossier inferring that he probably only invested in the brothels because he believed it would increase his union's funds.

MI6 sends Bond, an expert baccarat player, to the casino to bankrupt Le Chiffre and force him to take refuge with the British government and inform on SMERSH.

The torture session is interrupted when his SMERSH masters, led by the film's main villain, Dr. Noah, shoot him dead.

A mathematical genius and a chess prodigy, his abilities enable him to earn large sums of money on games of chance and probabilities, and he likes to show off by playing poker.

At the start of the movie, Le Chiffre is contacted by Mr. White, a representative of an elite criminal organisation later revealed to be Quantum (and, later still, Spectre).

He sets up and enters a high-stakes Texas hold 'em tournament at Casino Royale in Montenegro in an attempt to recoup his losses before his clients find out that their money has been misappropriated and seek revenge against him.

Bond is sent to make sure that Le Chiffre does not win back the money, hoping to force him to turn to MI6 for asylum in exchange for information on his creditors and employers.

During the tournament, an irate Obanno and his lieutenant break into Le Chiffre's hotel room, restrain his girlfriend Valenka, and garrotte him with a cord.

He offers not one word of objection to Obanno's feigned amputation of Valenka's arm, leading the ruthless warlord to advise her to find a new partner.

Bond almost dies, but, thanks to an antitoxin kit in his car, a defibrillator, and Vesper's timely assistance, he is revived at the last moment and returns to the game.

During the final round, Le Chiffre's full house bests the hands of the two players preceding him, but loses to Bond's straight flush.

Le Chiffre leaves Vesper, bound at the feet and hands, in the middle of the road, and Bond is forced to swerve to avoid hitting her and crashes his car.

Le Chiffre proceeds to whip Bond in the testicles repeatedly with the knotted end of a ship's lanyard, each time demanding the password for the account into which the tournament winnings will be transferred.

When Bond continues to defy him, Le Chiffre brandishes a knife and prepares to castrate him, only to be interrupted by the sound of gunfire outside.