31 DEC 2003 From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper: Nigerian 419ers Surface in Baghdad Fraud By Ayodele Aminu There appear to be no depths to which Nigerian 419ers will not go in order to feed their lust for riches beyond the wildest dreams of avarice. Indeed, they are now masquerading as coalition troops stationed in Baghdad who claim to have unearthed one of Saddam's treasure hordes. It's sort of like "Kelly's Heroes" but relocated to Lagos and the sun-kissed banks of the Tigris. Still, it looks like a good business opportunity for someone with an immediate need for huge amounts of ready cash. Your own haulage company would probably be handy, too, judging by the proposal: "Hello Dearly, We are teams of American coalition troops writing from Baghdad Iraq! "We are urgently seeking for your willingness to secure the below consignments as shown in the attached photos! "The goods were captured here in Baghdad, abandoned in one of the Saddam Hussein's Treasure House. However, the contents of the box are Gold Bars, Gold coins and huge amount of fund in the sealed boxes! "At moment, we are intending to ship these goods outside Iraq for safekeeping on our behalf but due to law and restriction order, we are unable to transport these goods to AMERICA .We hereby seek for your assistance to receive the box in Europe. "We are offering you 25 per cent of the entire goods either in cash or in value. Therefore, we will appreciate your effort to get back to us via email confirming your interest to assist us receive the consignment. "As soon as we receive your positive reply, we shall furnish you with further details. "Please, note, this issue must be handled with utmost confidentiality as to avoid publicity! "Yours truly. Capt. STELLA .A (Team Leader) "Anyone interested in taking up Captain Stella's offer should forward their credentials and full details of their bank accounts (including sample signatures, etc.) to us at El Reg and we will ensure that they are delivered to the relevant military authorities. "We will keep you fully posted on any further dictators/bullion/gold coins unearthed in palaces or small holes in the ground, and any business opportunities which may arise from such discoveries," stated the proposal. 419 Coalition Note: The 419ers have always been very creative in their "tales" and often use current events worldwide in an attempt to make them sound more credible. But it is important to note that no matter what the "tale" told, or the actual or ostensible origination of the 419 communication, the vast majority of 419 solicitations are of Nigerian origin or are connected to syndicates operating from Nigeria. There are local copycats, of course, in other countries etc., but they tend not to fare very well. In essence, 419 is a Nigerian "thing". There is much speculation on why that is so, but there it is. ******************************************** 4 DEC 2003 From Vanguard, a Nigerian newspaper: Money laundering: EFCC seizes $100m properties By Babajide Komolafe LAGOS The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it has seized properties worth $100 million from over 100 suspected money launderers across the country. Executive chairman of the chu Ribadu disclosed this in Lagos yesterday at a seminar on "anti-money laundering", organised by Travelex, issuers of Thomas Cook travelers cheques. Speaking on "Progress and problems in the anti-money laundering crusade," Ribadu stated that the properties were seized in order to send signals that there would be no sacred cows in the assault launched by the commission against money laundering and other economic crimes. The anti-money laundering statutes, he pointed out allows anything to be seized and forfeited if it was used to facilitate the commission of a range of crimes, or if the assets are shown to have been acquired through the proceeds of crime. Seizing properties of money launderers, he stated have been discovered to send a message that Nigeria is not a safe haven for proceeds of crimes. Ribadu indicted banks for not forthcoming in disclosing customers' transactions to the authorities, stating that some banks argued that bank business is based on trust and confidentiality which the Bank Secrecy Act protects. "Hence some banks when requested to submit records, hesitate and in some cases erroneously demand orders of court." These practices, Ribadu noted runs contrary to the money laundering law which provides an exclusion clause for the Bank Secrecy Act. Speaking on the pitfalls in the anti-money laundering crusade, the crime commission boss noted that enforcement of the provisions of the money laundering statute is a major problem militating against effort to eliminate the crime. According to him, "the legal regime as it is currently couched is prone to manipulation." "The law ought to have anticipated and boldly address key issues relating to the manipulation of the criminal justice system." Issues such as bail, adjournment, spurious motions, unduly long trials and underhand tactics for which lawyers are notorious in employing to delay the legal process ought to have been addressed in the light of the experience of the ICPC, which is yet to secure up to three definite convictions four years after establishment", he explained. ****************************************************************** 3 DEC 2003 From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper: 419: Crimes Commission Recovers $200m FG reads riot act to banks From Agaju Madugba in Kaduna The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has so far recovered $200 million from various advance fee fraud suspects otherwise known as 419 from both within and outside the counry. This is apart from an additional sum of N1 billion the commission retrieved from oil bunkering syndicates that defrauded the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS). The EFCC chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, who announced the recovery of money from the fraudsters yesterday said the commission had also arrested over 200 suspects, with over 40 cases currently pending in the law courts. Also, Minister of State for Finance, Mrs. Nenadi Usman, has vowed that the Federal Government would clampdown on banks and financial institutions obstructing its plans to curb corruption and other financial crimes. However, there was a blistering indictment of the judiciary by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), whose chairman, Justice Mustapha Akanbi, yesterday accused the judiciary of complicity in delay in the prosecution of accused fraudsters. "Unnecessary adjournments, frivolous orders of stay of proceedings, all manners of legal chicanery are used to frustrate efforts of the commission to bring corrupt people to book," Akanbi lamented. Ribadu, Usman and Akanbi spoke at the on-going workshop on corruption, economic and financial crimes, organised by the African Diaspora Initiative in collaboration with the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), in Kaduna. Accordng to Ribadu, his commission had "passed through the valley of the shadow of death" in the past eight months in trying to enforce economic and financial laws. He said, "at the moment, we are investigating several cases of illegal oil bunkering where we are in custody of several suspects. We are very happy that just in the last two months, we have succeeded in destabilising these illegal oil bunkerers and we are going after them and we will smoke them out to face the full wrath of the law." "At the international level, we are very proud of our modest achievements. The whole world is talking to us and we are receiving full support and cooperation of all," he said. Ribadu regretted that economic and financial crimes in the country have assumed alarming proportions. He noted that the development had tended to reduce the rate of foreign investment in the country. "There is resultant economic instability and the attendant business failures and accentuated unemployment. The effect of high unemployment level will continue to haunt our populace until we eradicate the malaise of economic and financial crimes," he said. While announcing government's preparation to descend on bankers who pose obstacles to the plans to stem the tide of financial crimes, Minister of State for Finance, Mrs Usman, told the workshop that government has identified some financial institutions as constituting an impediment to the realisation of the war on corruption and other financial crimes. Describing the financial subsector as the livewire of the nation's economy, the minister explained that its sanitisation must therefore begin with the banks and other financial institutions. According to Usman, "it is a clear breach of trust and a disgraceful corporate conduct for a bank duly authorised to collect taxes for government to fail or neglect to remit such payments as at when due, or even convert collected government revenues to its use. "It is sheer greed and an unethical conduct for banks to engage in foreign exchange racketeering. If our banking and financial institutions cannot be trusted, our economy will be in serious jeopardy," she said. As part of measures to check unwholesome financial misconduct, she said government had outlined a number of processes and procedures to tackle "corrupt practices and fraudulent tendencies which inhibit national development." She said the Ministry of Finance was committed to its role as the vanguard in government's quest to achieve and sustain macro-economic stability. Usman said, "the Federal Ministry of Finance is proud to be in the forefront of the economic and governance reforms that are currently being implemented by the Federal Government. "The administration is determined to break out of the cycle of under-development which is largely self-inflicted through corruption and economic crimes. "Gone are the days public officers would get away with inflated contracts to the detriment of the national treasury. "There is in place the Budget Monitoring and Price Intelligence Unit (BMPIU) which deals with contract award review and certification, commonly referred to as the due process. "Through this mechanism, value for money is elevated as the fundamental premise for public expenditure," she said. But Justice Akanbi who absolved the ICPC of some of the common allegations being levelled against it noted that the commission only acts within the Act establishing it. According to him, "the commission has also been accused of not having put anyone behind bars yet. It must be made quite clear that the powers of the ICPC stop at the prosecution of offenders. Our courts determine the cases. Quite sadly, some of these courts constitute themselves into obstacles to expeditious hearing of corruption cases as they encourage the use of the judicial process to delay justice." He said the National Assembly had already begun to consider the amendment of the ICPC Enabling Act to enable the commision apprehend suspected fraudsters, without necessarily waiting for petitions from the public. Akanbi confirmed Transparency International rating of Nigeria as he said, "granted that this assessment is based on a perception index, there is no running away from the glaring fact that we are a very corrupt society." "The commission is presently working with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) and bankrolling the development of an anti-corruption curriculum which will be infused into subjects at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education," he said. 419 Coalition comment: We applaud the recovery of 419ed monies and await the repatriation of the recovered funds. **************************************** 27 NOV 2003 From silicon.com, located at http://www.silicon.com 419 crackdown must get to the source, say UK police Andy McCue A proposed new crackdown on '419' email scams by the Nigerian government must give police powers to arrest the wealthy and well-connected criminals at the heart of the operation, according to the UK's National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS). The 'advanced fee fraud' 419 emails promise recipients a share of the huge fortune of some dead politician or businessman in return for letting the transaction pass through their bank account. Victims end up sending their ID and financial details and an up-front 'processing' fee running into thousands of pounds, which the perpetrators then disappear with. NCIS claims the fraud is responsible for the theft of £150m a year from the UK and Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said at a presidential committee on email scams this week that he plans to increase measures to crackdown on 419 criminals in his country. A committee has been set up to consider recommendations including new legislation and a new agency to deal with the problem. A spokesman for NCIS told silicon.com that the move will be welcomed by law enforcement agencies around the world but that any measures will need to go to the heart of these operations and target the powerful, rich and well-connected criminals in the region. "We pick up the small fry and regional co-ordinators but what to date has eluded law enforcement are the really big boys, and some of them are very wealthy and well-connected," he said. 419 is still very much a problem in the UK with the average victim conned out of over £50,000. The NCIS spokesman said that the bigger picture is that this money is used to fund much more serious organised crime. "We know the criminals are involved in heroin trafficking, immigration crime, vehicle theft and credit card crime," he said. NCIS will wait to see what recommendations are proposed but said anything that gives law enforcement the chance to disrupt a link in the chain of organised crime is like "pulling the tail of a rather large tiger". The Nigerian High Commission in London was contacted but was unavailable for comment. Story URL: http://www.silicon.com/management/government/0,39024677,39117106,00.htm ********************************************************** 27 NOV 2003 From the Daily Times, a Nigerian newspaper: Appeal against EFCC’s powers:Court suspends Ade Bendel’s trial ANGELA NKWO AN Ikeja High Court has suspended the trial of Lagos socialite, Adedeji Alumile, aka Ade Bendel, for alleged advance fee fraud popularly known as 419, pending the determination of his appeal against the court’s ruling that Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman, Nuhu Ribadu, is empowered to initiate criminal proceedings against suspected fraudsters. Suspending Ade Bendel’s trial on Wednesday, Justice M.A Obadina said she was doing so to enable the accused exercise his right of appeal and know the outcome. Last November 12, Obadina had, while ruling on an application brought by Ade Bendel, declared that Ribadu had powers to charge suspected fraudsters to court, either alone or in collaboration with the Attorney-General of the Federation and Justice Minister, on behalf of the Federal Government. Obadina held that going by provisions of section 171 (IB) of the EFCC Act, Ribadu could charge persons to court and struck out the application brought by Ade Bendel’s lawyer, Lekan Ojo, on gounds that it was ill-conceived and unmeritorious. After the ruling, Ojo told the court that his client had appealed against the ruling and urged Obadina to stay proceedings, pending the decision of the appellate court. Ade Bendel and one Shina Olowoake (a.k.a Abdullahi Abdulsalam) were charged with 419. Ade Bendel is being held at Kirikiri Maximum prisons, while Olowoake Shina is in the custody of the EFCC. The duo are accused of allegedly swindling a Nigerian of N28 million, an offence which is contrary to section 8 (a) and 1(3) of the Advance fee fraud and Other Related Offences Act 13 of 1995 as amended by Decree 62 of 1999. 419 Coalition comment: ********** Sigh ********** ......... Is anything EVER going to come of any of these cases? **************************************** 25 NOV 2003 From the Daily Times, a Nigerian newspaper: 419: Ibekwe collapses in prison, may go blind By ANGELA NKWO EMBATTLED re-elected House of Representatives member, Morris Ibekwe, being held over allegations of financial crimes, may soon go blind, just as he collapsed in prison on Monday, after a meal of jollof rice and beans. The DAILY TIMES gathered that Ibekwe had, after the meal at 4.30p.m. on Monday, collapsed and was assisted to the prison clinic by prisoners for medical attention. It was learnt that the food was prepared at the prison. When contacted, his wife, Helen, said she suspected that the meal was poisoned. I fear he has been poisoned, or how else could he have collapsed after a meal which he is not new to, she queried. As at press time, Ibekwe was still at the prison clinic, while medical authorities at the place were making efforts to contact their superiors to transfer him to the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for proper medical attention. He is said to have lost weight considerably. Also, it is feared that his hypertensive condition may have greatly impaired his sight, which not a few people suggested may lead to blindness. Already, the suspect has been diagnosed to have glaucoma, a disease of the eyes, while there were fears within his family that he might soon go blind. It would be recalled that for two consecutive times, Ibekwe was taken to court on wheel chair to face trial before Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun of the Ikeja High Court. 419 Coalition note: We're not so sure that his victims give much of a damn about Ibekwe's health, but are sure they want their monies recovered and repatriated. We're waiting for a story on that, which would be interesting indeed. ********************************************************** 23 NOV 2003 From Reuters: German woman leads fight against Nigerian fraudsters Five years ago, three Nigerian men tracked Frieda Springer-Beck to her village in Bavaria, put a gun to her head and told her to drop charges against a man she accused of staging an elaborate international fraud. Now the 54-year-old German woman's fight against Nigeria's notorious junk-mail conmen is starting to see results. Since May, Nigeria's new anti-fraud unit, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arrested more than 200 people for junk mail scams, including the man Springer- Beck says duped her out of $360,000 in 1993. The so-called 419 scam, named after the article in Nigeria's criminal code outlawing it, has become so successful over the last 20 years that campaigners say it is now one of the African country's biggest exports after oil, natural gas and cocoa. The fraud swindles hundreds of millions of dollars every year from people across the world, who respond to junk e-mails promising them a share of non-existent fortunes in return for an advance fee. "I know through my own experience how you feel when you say you have been cheated. Nobody is in a position to help you or wants to listen at all," said Springer-Beck, who moved to Lagos last year to push ahead with her campaign. In 1994 Springer-Beck formed the International Nigerian Interest Group, an association of fraud victims battling the swindlers through Nigeria's notoriously slow and corrupt justice system. The association is currently handling 89 cases. None has led to a conviction and, up until May, the association had brought about only one arrest. Nigeria's inaction over the fraud helped earn it the dubious distinction of the world's second most corrupt country after Bangladesh from the sleaze watchdog Transparency International. Nuhu Ribadu, who heads the EFCC, said property worth $200 million has now been confiscated in connection with more than 30 cases now before court. A member of parliament was among those arrested, and others are being held for the biggest ever 419 swindle, which was worth $180 million and brought down a Brazilian bank. "Our intention is to bring them to justice for the first time...to return the money to the victims," said Ribadu. "419 has destroyed the credibility of our country. As a result of this it is almost impossible to do business. No one takes us seriously," he said. FAKE CENTRAL BANK Springer-Beck's own 419 saga began in 1993, when a letter arrived for her recently deceased husband asking him to come to Nigeria to collect his interest on an investment in a Nigerian electricity plant. She got in touch with the author of the letter, who recommended a lawyer to help her get all the information she needed. She took on the lawyer only after checking his credentials with the German embassy. On her first of several trips to Lagos, Springer-Beck was taken to what she thought were the offices of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Officials presented her with documents displaying her late husband's letterhead, showing he had invested a large, but undisclosed, amount of money in the country. "Today I know it was the building in front of the Central Bank of Nigeria," she said, adding that she was fooled by security guards wearing CBN uniforms at the gate. Although doubtful at first, she eventually paid her lawyer the $360,000 he requested as a down- payment for staking her claim to the investment. After five months she realised she had fallen victim to a scam. In August 1993, she tracked the alleged fraudster to his home in downtown Lagos and confronted him. "He laughed at me, called me a snake," she said. "I told him if you don't give me back my money I will find a way you will never forget me." In 1995 the lawyer was arrested and held on remand for two years only to be released without standing trial, and the case has been adjourned repeatedly since. But in May this year, he was arrested again by the newly created EFCC, and charged with defrauding a Dutchman of $1.7 million. Springer-Beck is optimistic. "The cases will be successful. It is only a matter of time. You can't change things at once which grew up over 20 years." 419 Coalition note: We hope that the $200 million in assets that Ribadu says have been recovered will be repatriated ASAP without the absurd delays that CBN is inventing in the Ghasemi case? ************************************************* 23 NOV 2003 From Vanguard, a Nigerian newspaper: ECONOMIC CRIMES:Why we haven't arrested ministers By Habib Yakoob, Abuja Apprehends 200 ‘419'kingpins, recovers $100m DESPITE the high rating of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the successes it has recorded in its prosecution of the war against money laundering and advance fee fraud (419) among other economic crimes, the body has explained why it could not bring to book ministers and top government officials that may have run foul of economic crime laws. Reason, according to the EFCC executive chairman, Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu, is that the law establishing the commission clearly bars it from entertaining cases pertaining to the public officials. However, the cheering in formation from the Financial Crimes Commission is that at least 200 advance fee fraud kingpins had been taken out of circulation with over 100 million U.S. Dollars recovered from money laundering syndicates paid into government coffers. Two of the high profile Nigerians already being prosecuted by the EFCC for alleged advance fee fraud offences are Chief Morris Ibekwe, a re-elected member of the House of Representatives and Chief Olumide, a Lagos-based socialite, otherwise known as Ade Bendel. Ribadu, a former high ranking police officer, while explaining the EFCC’s constraint in putting ministers, governors and other top ranking public officials on the list of those that could be arrested and prosecuted for economic crimes last week, said: "The ICPC deals with corruption in the public circle while we deal with same in the private sector". "I am, by this responsibility, in charge of all financial and economic crimes ranging from ‘419’ to money laundering, we deal with corporate Nigeria including the banking sector and others, not public corruption", he told Sunday Vanguard exclusively in Abuja, saying there was a lot of misunderstanding over the commission’s role in this regard. Although the EFCC’s boss lamented that the twin problems of slow dispensation of justice by the judiciary and suspects bribing their way out of prosecution were hampering the commission’s efforts, Ribadu disclosed that at least 200 advance fee fraud kingpins and money launderers had been arrested and made to face prosecution or in the process of being made to face it. "I must tell you that since we started, it has not been easy. We began active work just May this year and we went after the biggest 419ers in this country and we have so far arrested at least over 200 of them", he disclosed. According to the EFCC boss, the commission had been able to push in billions of monies back to government’s coffers. "For instance", he said, "over 100 million dollars has been recovered from individual syndicates while over a billion Naira has been turned into the coffers". "We embarked on the arrest of crude oil thieves and we got a lot which we could not quantify in Naira terms", Ribadu added. 419 Coalition comment: And how much of these $100 million plus in recovered 419ed monies has been returned to the victims to date? None that we know of. And how come these monies are being "push[ed] back into government's coffers"? The Nigerian Government has no right to to keep recovered 419ed funds. To do so would make it basically a 419er itself, the monies merely changing hands from one bunch of 419ers to another. ************************************** 14 NOV 2003 From The News, a Nigerian newspaper: Ibekwe: Judge descends on Ribadu ACHILLEUS UCHEGBU JUSTICE Kudirat Kekere-Ekun of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, yesterday descended on Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, for alleged contempt of court, fixing December 5 for commencement of hearing in the matter. Ribadu had in defiance of a July 18 court order prohibiting him from further granting press interviews or noting statements against the character and person of accused persons standing trial on alleged financial crime charges, granted a 30 minute interview to Radio Nigeria. One of the accused is House of Representatives member, Chief Maurice Ibekwe, standing trial on charges of forgery and advance fee fraud (419). Instituting the charge against Mallam Ribadu, the complainant, Chief Ibekwe said the press interview allegedly granted by the EFCC boss painted him in bad light and was capable of prejudicing his trial. According to him, Ribadu, had during the interview, made remarks to the effect that he (Ibekwe) ought to be in jail for financial crimes, adding that with such comments and belief, fair trial cannot be guaranteed for him. Ibekwe, who for the second time, was brought to the court in a wheelchair yesterday, also urged the court to reprimand the EFCC boss as his alleged action was in direct contravention of a court order. Though the lawmaker appeared in court with a white polyethylene bag containing several pharmaceutical drugs, his counsel, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan (SAN) told the court that being present is quite different from having the ability to stand trial. "Being in court is one thing, being fit to stand trial is another thing. The medical report says he is not mentally and physically fit to stand trial. You can see he is here on wheelchair, he told the court charge was, however, not properly brought before the court. Meanwhile, an earlier contempt charge against prosecution witness in the trial, German Klaus Munch was yesterday dismissed by the court on technical grounds. Dismissing the cahrge filed by another accused person in the trial, Chief Chrystogonus Okoro, trial judge, Kekere-Ekun observed that while the alleged contempt was criminal in law, and ought to be punished, the charge was, however, not properly brought before the court. She held that it was the police who ought to have arrested and prosecuted Mr. Munch, adding that counsel to Chief Okoro, Mr. Kehinde Pinheiro, was not competent to frame charges and recommend punishment for the alleged crime. However, fixing December 5 for trial of Ribadu, the court was guided by prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs who said that the EFCC boss just returned to the country from the United States of America (USA) where he had gone for training at the world famous Harvard University. The court also fixed December 15 for the continuation of trial in the substantive matter concerning Ibekwe and Okoro in which Mr. Munch is expected to conclude his evidence-in- chief. 419 Coalition comment: A little vignette on the absurdity of Nigerian "justice". This does not bode well for the outcome in the Ibekwe case etc. ******************************************* 13 NOV 2003 From ThisDay, a Nigeran newspaper: Crimes Commission Sets-up Financial Intelligence Unit * Seeks amendment to criminal procedure law From Kunle Aderinokun and Iyefu Adoba in Abuja Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will any moment from now establish the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to monitor financial activities in and out of Nigeria. Also, the Commission has proposed an amendment to criminal laws operating in the country in order to make it simpler to prosecute cases. While soliciting for assistance in the fight against corruption, the commission also urged Western nations to freeze monies stolen by looters so that they will not be able to enjoy the funds or invest and take their families to spend them. Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, spoke Tuesday night in Abuja at a parley with the Head of Italian National Anti-mafia Bureau, Piero Luigi Vigna after the latter signed an agreement for Italy with Nigeria, on anti-mafia, financial crimes and other related issues. The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Akinlolu Olujinmi, signed on behalf of Nigeria. Ribadu said the FIU will avail the country a database of information on the flow of money in the entire Nigerian business sector including government businesses. "We will have it in the form of data. We will establish a data base where such information will flow in, and then we will analyze it. We will follow the source of the money and what such money is used for," he said. He revealed that already groups whose membership include representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Customs and Excise and the Nigerian Police, aare already working on this. He explained that the EFCC, through the agreement signed with Italy, will receive support and assistance towards the establishment of the FIU. According to him, "we are learning from them how to go about establishing this thing. We have gotten assurance from Italy . They are available to assist us. Whatever assistance they have to offer, they are ready and available to help us. We are looking at how they have been making it work in their country." He noted by the time the FIU is established any questionable money going out of the country, we will know. "If somebody is sending money through Moneygram, we will know who he is sending the money to. If you transfer money to somebody if it is proceeds of crime, if it is from drug, if it is money from prostitution, if it is money from corruption, may be it is 419 money, we will follow it. And also if it has anything to do with terrorism." He said "what we are going to learn is how Italy and other countries are operating. In their countries, they have it. In Nigeria we will establish our own. There must be reports everyday from the banks, from financial institutions, from insurance companies, from casinos, from everybody who is spending money. You must report to me. "When we get these things, we now feed it into our system, we have analysts who will sit down and analyze. We have investigators who will follow up. If we see anything questionable we will get to the root of it." He expressed the belief that the establishment of the FIU is one of the most important steps in addressing the problem of financial and economic crimes in the country. 419 Coalition comment: Sounds very promising! However, in terms of repatriation of seized monies to 419 victims, what good does all this do if Central Bank of Nigeria continues to Refuse to return recovered monies to victims as it has done for over two years in the Ghasemi case? How can any Nigerian Government counter-419 efforts have credibility without convictions for 419 offenses and the routine repatriations of large amounts of recovered monies? ***************************************************** 6 NOV 2003 From 1010 WINS Newsradio NY (Danbury CT): Connecticut Woman Lures Spammer to Police (1010 WINS) (DANBURY, Conn.) A Bethel woman, fed up with suspicious e-mail pitches promising millions, is taking credit for helping catch a Canadian man accused of fraud. Like many other e-mail recipients, Heide Evans received numerous messages purporting to be from Nigeria and promising millions of dollars. But unlike others who delete the e-mails, Evans said she led the U.S. Secret Service and Bethel police to Nicholas Horvath-Howard, 24, of Toronto, who met her hoping to receive a reward. "Over several months I managed to convince them I was gullible enough to go along with them, and surprise of surprises, they were stupid enough to send a messenger to see me to collect the money," Evans told The News-Times of Danbury. Evans met Horvath-Howard in Bethel, where she said he expected to pick up more than $200,000. Instead, Bethel police were waiting for Horvath-Howard and charged him with first- degree attempted larceny. Horvath-Howard was arraigned in Danbury Superior Court on Monday. Bond was set at $250,000 and his case was continued until Nov. 10. The Financial Crimes Division of the Secret Service says it receives about 100 calls daily from victims or potential victims and between 300 and 500 correspondence daily about the scams. The e-mails, which have become common in recent years, should be ignored, said Bethel police Detective Ron Ashker. "If it sounds too good to be true, it is," he said. "The easiest way to avoid this thing is don't buy into it." ******************************************* 3 NOV 2003 From the Straits Times (Singapore): Duped of $2m Five Singaporeans fall for Internet cheats By Ben Nadarajan FIVE Singaporeans have been duped of almost $2 million, after falling for Internet cheats offering shares in non-existent family fortunes or shady investment deals. The four men and a woman, aged between 25 and 50 lost between $50,000 and $400,000 each. Four of them are in sales and the fifth is an insurance agent. Why did they fall for the e-mail con? One blamed his greed while the others felt they were too gullible, said the police, who are investigating all five cases. So far this year, members of the public have forwarded to the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) almost 700 e-mail messages, originating mostly from Africa and promising big rewards in return for money up front. Assistant Superintendent Milkeet Singh cautioned: 'These people are clearly out to cheat. Don't expect handsome returns. Expect a rude awakening instead when you discover your hard- earned money cleaned out.' The scams, which originated more than two decades ago in Africa, used to be sent via letters or faxes, but e-mail versions began appearing in 1996. The con men are mainly from African nations like Nigeria, Ghana, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast and Liberia and their recipients are picked at random. Victims around the world fork out enough money to sustain an 'industry' which is the third largest in Nigeria. Some estimates say these con men earn US$1.5 billion (S$2.6 billion) a year, with the money financing African drug lords. Before the five Singaporeans fell for the Internet scams, many others were duped by earlier versions. For example, in March at least 50 Singaporeans fell for a Spanish lottery scam when they received letters saying they had won prizes and were asked to send money to cover expenses for sending the winnings to Singapore. Police are still investigating these cases, which involve about $150,000 in all. Police have had some success in arresting suspects, when they come here to meet their victims. Since 1997, 19 men aged between 20 and 45 have been arrested for such scams, most of them Africans. The most recent court case, in March, saw a Liberian man who cheated his victim of US $105,000 sentenced to five years' jail. The maximum punishment here for cheating is seven years' jail. The CAD said that it is working closely with various international counterparts to tackle these fraudsters. The Nigerian authorities, long accused of not doing enough to fight these con men, prosecuted three nationals this year for cheating foreigners of more than US$2 million. Despite police efforts, the e-mail messages keep coming, and many of the fraudsters are now believed to be operating from South Africa. ASP Milkeet Singh's advice: 'Be wary when offered such get-rich-quick offers that promise exorbitant returns. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.' ******************************************************* 30 OCT 2003 From the Daily Trust, a Nigerian newspaper: Presidency insists on prosecuting Ajudua, Ibekwe By Reuben Yunana Pressures being mounted on government to release alleged advanced fee fraud (419), kingpin, Chief Fred Ajudua, Hon Morris Ibekwe and others currently in detention seem to have hit the rocks as the presidency yesterday vowed to ensure their successful prosecution. President Olusegun Obasanjo is said to have vowed that "if Ajudua or any of them is guilty, he will go to jail," insisting that the war on economic and financial crimes was just beginning, The presidency had alleged that pressure had, in the past weeks, mounted from various quarters for the release of the suspects with various media reports criticising President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar for alleged insensitivity. Presidential sources hinted yesterday that government had kept tabs on such publications. "The publications are wildly speculative and factually deficient. The publications recently called the president a liar over his nationwide address on October 1, 2003. "They followed with another cover story calling him a failure and a deceiver. The vice president got his own dose in a cover story titled, "Atiku and his bribery gang," alleging the falsehood that Atiku bribed the Senate to the tune of N50 million to have Nasir el-Rufai cleared for the position of minister", said the source. He said the full wrath of the law was on course and must consume those found guilty of defrauding anybody whether Nigerians or foreigners. 419 Coalition: Any "pressures" to release Ajudua et. at are absurd. They have been charged. Therefore they must stand trial. Their assets at home and abroad should already have been frozen as well pending the outcome of the trials. The Nigerian judiciary needs to get moving on these matters. And what right would the President have to release them anyway? Nigeria.... na wa oh :) :) ******************************************************** 29 OCT 2003 From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper: 419: Judiciary Used to Frustrate Trial, Says Ribadu * 38 Nigerians jailed in S/Africa From Josephine Lohor in Abuja and Victor Efeizomor in Lagos Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, (EFCC) Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu, has accused financial crime suspects (419ers) of using the judiciary to frustrate their trail. Ribadu who spoke on Monday in a Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) programme "Eagle Square," monitored in Abuja, also noted that the advance fee fraud (419) would remain unabated in Nigeria until there are convictions, which will serve as deterrent to others. Argued Nuhu, "How can it be that in South Africa, there are 38 Nigerians convicted for 419, but in Nigeria there is no single conviction. How do you think that the international community will take us serious." Continuing he said, "there must be conviction for the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to take us serious." Ribadu who noted the role of the judiciary in frustrating prosecution of crime suspects in Nigeria, said, "Any time we commence full prosecution, lawyers to these 419 kingpins will use the courts to stall prosecution. They will file one motion or the other at the Court of Appeal." "We need to set example by actual conviction. In this country, there is no single case of conviction, yet there are over 27 Nigerians in detention for crimes of 419," he said. The EFCC boss also criticized the judicial system in Nigeria regretting that, "It is only the poor that go to prison." He added: "it is high time we brought the rich who are criminals to justice. They have money and use their money to buy their way out. Today there is no rich man in Nigerian prisons." Ribadu revealed that his commission has secured witnesses from Holland, Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom to enable it prosecute several cases of 419 against some prominent Nigerians currently in jail. He lamented that, "these witnesses, who are victims of 419 are being threatened by the 419 kingpins." But he assured them that, "we will give them adequate protection, if only to tell the world that we are serious." On the allegation against Fred Ajudua, Ade Bendel, and Maurice Ibekwe currently in detention for Advance Fee Fraud offences, Ribadu said, " Fred Ajudua has twelve cases pending against him. The latest was advance fee fraud to the tune of 1.6 million Euros and another $1.5 million. Both offences were committed in 2001." Ade Bendel, he said duped an Egyptian General and some group of people in Calabar. According to the EFCC Boss "Ade Bendel has three cases against him," while Maurice Ibekwe is being charged for defrauding a German. The offence, he said was committed in 1992. On the deportation of the Vaswani brothers, Nuhu Ribadu accused them of corrupting the security agencies by compromising them in the course of their duties. Ribadu added that the deportation of the Vaswanis became necessary since they claimed to be British citizens and therefore expected to face trial in a British court. "We need to set example with them," Ribadu stated, noting that there is no big deal about their deportation because over three hundred Nigerians are being deported per week from all over the world. Meanwhile, the presidency has vowed not to interfere in the on-going prosecution of Ibekwe, a member of the House of Representatives, Ajudua and others accused of advanced fee fraud (a.k.a 419). This declaration is in response to pressures mounting on the presidency to release the kingpins who are currently on trial for several 419 cases. A presidency source stated yesterday that government has been keeping tabs on the various media campaigns accusing President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar of insensitivity over the matter. The source, who said the President has insisted that "if Ajudua or any of them is guilty, he will go to jail," added that Obasanjo has also vowed that the EFCC has just begun its job. The source added that "the publications are wildly speculative and factually deficient." He said "the damaging falsehood peddled against the President and the Vice President were intended to pressure them to release a particular 419 kingpin now that all the legal maneouvres and powerful lobbying had failed to stop their trial. But we are not bothered." Emphasising that the law will definitely deal with people found guilty of defrauding any Nigerian or foreigner, the source noted that "the publication recently called the President a liar over his nationwide address on October 1, 2003. They followed another cover story calling him a failure and a deceiver." "The Vice President got his own dose this week in a cover story titled 'Atiku and His Bribery Gang,' alleging the oft repeated falsehood that Atiku bribed the Senate to the tune of N50 million to have Nasir el-Rufai, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory," the source added. Meanwhile, an Ikeja High Court was yesterday told that Ibekwe who is standing trial for alleged involvement in Advance Fee Fraud is critically ill and has been referred to the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for treatment. This prompted the trial judge, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun to adjourn further hearing on the matter to tomorrow to enable the defence counsel Professor Taiwo Osipitan to furnish the court with medical reports from the Nigerian Prison Authority and the hospital. When the matter was mentioned for hearing yesterday, Ibekwe's counsel told the court that due to the deteriorating health condition of the detained lawmaker, the prison authority could not bring him (Ibekwe) to court as he has been referred to for proper medical attention. 419 Coalition note: Mr. Ribadu has it Partly right - no-one will take Nigerian counter-419 operations seriously until there are Convictions AND Recoveries and Reparations of funds. Convictions alone won't do it without monies being returned to the victims. And Ribadu could help with That process by calling Usman, Deputy Governor of CBN, and telling him to wire victim Shaha Ghasemi's recovered funds to her. CBN announced the recovery well over two years ago and is still sitting on the funds, even though CBN has a letter from the US State Department's Office of West African Affairs stating that "the Nigerian Government may dispose of the [recovered] funds as it deems appropriate" to include sending the monies back to Mrs. Ghasemi as CBN has publicly pledged to do. The hassle CBN has been making out of returning her monies is absurd and that sort of behaviour is certainly counter-productive concerning Any Nigerian Government claims of "effective" counter-419 operations. 419 Coalition calls on CBN to quit stalling and send the woman her money! If you don't people will think (many do already) that the reason CBN isn't returning it is because CBN staffers have stolen it for themselves. That certainly doesn't do much for CBN or government of Nigeria credibility. **************************************************** 25 OCT 2003 From the Nigerian newspaper THE GUARDIAN, sent in by a concerned Nigerian: Fraudsters Go Under As Commission Tightens Noose By Godwin Ijediogor FRAUDSTERS who hitherto had a free reign are gradually going under as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) bares its fangs on them. At the last count, three kingpins of the Advance Fee Fraud 419 had been arraigned in court by the commission while others have been declared wanted. Among those on the wanted list of the commission are the chairman of a cocoa processing firm over his company's failure to repay over N2billion debt to a consortium of banks. Another suspect identified as Chief Olafemi Ayeni, an accomplice of Alumile Adedeji aka Ade Bendel was yesterday declared wanted by the commission. . The duo allegedly defrauded an Egyptian General Abdel Azim Attia of over $500,000 (N65 million) Ayeni, the first suspect purportedly posed as Hakeem Sadiq Fulani in the nefarious business deal along with Adedeji. The 43 -year- old suspect hails from Ilesha, Osun State. Adedeji is already facing trial in the court for obtaining under false pretence, about $305,000 (N39 million) from the Egyptian to fund a farming project. In a statement yesterday, the commission explained that "Ayeni was initially charged to an Abuja Magistrate Court, which released him on bail. He has since broken the bail conditions and gone into hiding He is wanted in connection with incriminating evidence discovered by investigators at his home, and to shed more light on his role in the 419 heist." Interestingly, banks, which have been unable to recover huge debts from prominent Nigerians and corporate entities are taking their plight to the commission. Also a few weeks ago, the EFCC beamed its searchlight on two top executives of Ebun Industries Limited, Messrs. Tope Bakare and Ayo Bakare. Trouble began for the executives of one of the nation's cocoa processing companies about three years ago when their outfit sought and obtained loan facilities of about N2.3 billion from a consortium of seven banks to finance its line of business, including export of cocoa beans and processed products. The company reportedly failed to meet its financial obligation to the banks and instead promised to pay a paltry N600,000,000 of its N2 billion indebtedness to the creditors over a five-year period. Dissatisfied with the proposals, representatives of the banks after a meeting on July 16, 2002 demanded a review of the offers. They set up a seven-man committee to "further look at the options and come up with an action plan." After due consideration and evaluation of the amount involved and the implications for their operations, some of the creditors rejected the proposal. A participant at the meeting said that "it would be very stupid of us to accept N600,000 million in place of over N2 billion. I mean, what would the public think of us?." By the proposal, one of the banks, for instance was offered about N60 million against its total exposure of N242 million as at July 31, 2003. "To cut over losses and move on, we made a counter offer of immediate payment of N85m as full and final payments by Ebun Industries", he said. "Our said offer was turned down without any show of remorse or regret." Piqued by the company's antic, some members of the consortium backed out of the arrangement and wrote to the financial crime body for assistance in recovering the debt. In a letter dated September 18, 2003 addressed to the commission's chief, one of the creditors alleged that the promoters of the company "boast of their contacts within the Nigerian system and their ability to abuse legal loopholes to their advantage." The banks, therefore, appealed to the commission to "use your good offices to thoroughly investigate this matter and bring the culprits to face the consequences of their action." Consequently, the commission arrested the chief executive of the firm, Mr. Ayo Bakare, while its chairman Tope Bakare is said to be at large. The commission has so far arrested and arraigned lawyer and businessman, Chief Fred Ajudua, Ade Bendel and a member of the House of Representatives, Mr. Maurice Ibekwe for defrauding some foreigners. Their cases are pending in different courts in Lagos. ********************************************************* 22 OCT 2003 From The Register, a UK news site: How to beat the 419 scammers By Jan Libbenga So you think those wacky Nigerians who promise you compensation for assistance in moving funds from foreign countries to banks in Europe, are operating from scruffy cyber-cafes in Lagos? Think again. When the police last year raided a flat in the Amsterdam suburb of Bijlmer as part of an investigation, they couldn't believe their eyes: faxes and phone lines everywhere. Mobile phone cards abound. And in one of the bedrooms a fully operational PBX telephone system, programmed to be The Anglo American Bank or The City Express Finance & Trust. Companies, you guessed it, formed solely with the purpose to rake in victims. Some of us are all too familiar with those emails in which an alleged former dignitary of the Nigerian government proposes to set up a bank account where millions of dollars - often a fallen dictator's ill-gained fortune - can be kept safely. In return, you'll get a percentage of the stash. Most people laugh at these pleas. Some read them out loud at parties. At least a half a dozen web scam bait sites poke fun at these get-rich-quick schemes, and engage in often hilarious dialogues with the scamsters. Regrettably, victims fork over enough money to sustain an industry that ranks in Nigeria's Top five. Officials estimate that Britons alone lose £150 million a year to such frauds. Globally, experts put the annual take at a staggering $1.5 billion, money that is often used to finance heroin smuggling and other criminal activities. Nigerian scammers used to operate from the UK, but combined police efforts have driven them to continental Europe, in particular to the Netherlands, which not only has a liberal immigration policy and a large African community, but also offers easy Internet access. Recently we reported on 419 lottery scams. People are still getting conned. Recently, a businessman from Harrogate, Yorks signed over a handling fee of £3500 for a £1 million prize in a computer lottery to three men at a plush office in Amsterdam; he never saw his money again. The Dutch anti-fraud squad estimates that at least 300 Africans are engaged in email frauds from Amsterdam. "The city has become central hub for these scams in Europe," Cees Schep of the Dutch National Criminal Intelligence Department told The Reg. "Sometimes criminals travel from Germany to operate here temporarily. Some enter the country pretending to be students, often paying for their education with stolen credit cards." Along with Interpol, Cees Schep is now looking for new ways to fight the scams. "Throwing these people in jail won’t help a lot," he says. "They will be replaced by others in no time. We need to cripple their means of communications. Shut down their mobile phones and email boxes relentlessly." Schep has collected over 950 mobile phone numbers to do just that. The Dutch Internet cable operator Chello is already helping: it booted dozens of subscribers spewing 419 email letters without warning. That seem to have some effect: scammers are seeking refuge in the Easy Internet Cafe in Amsterdam, where you can see them laboring over long lists of email addresses. All you have to do is delete their email. 419 Coalition Note: On deleting the mail, that's not the case. In the US for example No Loss 419 letters are to be forwarded with their headers to the Secret Service at 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov and Loss 419 cases are to be reported to the nearest office of the Secret Service. Please see the What To Do sections on our main page for these and other reporting instructions etc. ******************************************************* 14 OCT 2003 From the Guardian (UK): Spain Breaks Up Sweepstakes Fraud Ring MADRID, Spain (AP) - Madrid police broke up a fraud ring that cheated hundreds of Americans and Canadians out of $35 million through scams such as a lottery simulating a Spanish Christmas sweepstakes, officials said Tuesday. A total of 103 people - mostly Nigerians - were arrested during raids in and around Madrid, police said. The ring allegedly swindled 500 people, mostly residents of the United States and Canada, this year through different methods, police spokesman Jose Maria Seara told national radio. Fifty people were arrested this month, a police statement said. It did not provide any details about the other arrests. The Madrid-based lottery scam was reported this summer in the United States by the Better Business Bureau, and the attorneys general of several states - including Arizona, Missouri and Texas - warned residents. Victims typically received a letter saying they had been picked at random and won about $580,000 in a Spanish lottery called El Gordo. That's also the name of a real lottery Spain holds every Christmas, with winnings reaching $2 billion last year. The letter urges people to send money to cover taxes and handling fees, and some of those duped mailed more than $20,000, police said. Spanish police began investigating after several embassies received complaints, Seara said. In another scam, victims are told $20 million in cash is languishing in an African country or Iraq, and they are urged to pay fees to help sneak it out in return for a hefty share. Some people traveled to Madrid and were shown trunks holding dollars stained with a special ink, supposedly to prevent them from being placed in circulation. Victims paid for what they were told were expensive chemicals needed to clean the bank notes. Some people paid as much as $500,000 in fees and money for chemicals, the police said. *********************************** 5 OCT 2003 From the the London Sunday Telegraph Simpson on Sunday: Had I won the Spanish lottery? Apparently, yes By John Simpson Journalists, like any other profession, come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. There are grand commentators, and adventurers and reporters who confront wrongdoers on their own doorsteps. I've never been much of a foot-in-the-door man myself, but when the opportunity arose last week I couldn't ignore it. It began with a fax. "We happily congratulate you [on] being one of the lucky winners of our yearly International Promotions Program." I had, it seemed, won a big prize in the Spanish state lottery, and was told to ring a number immediately to claim my prize. It was slightly surprising since I had never bought a Spanish lottery ticket in my life. But the prize was impressively precise, at ?705,366 (£494,000), and I could do with the money. All hope evaporated the moment the call went through, however. There was a Mr Bobby Williams at the other end, and he obviously came from Nigeria. Nigeria is one of my favourite countries on earth, but it has more than its fair share of scoundrels, and they have spread worldwide. Mr Bobby Williams was delighted that I had won the prize; all I had to do to get it was to pay a facility fee. Could I pay it in person, I asked? A wary pause; it was highly irregular, but I could. There was something of the Sherlock Holmes short story, The Red-Headed League, about it all, though, and as it happened I had an unused ticket to Madrid. Two days later, with my brother-in-law for support, I arrived in Madrid. I was supposed to ring Mr "Greg Williams" in the "protocol department". Mr Greg Williams, who sounded exactly like his namesake, Mr Bobby Williams, said a driver would come to meet me. We were taken to a rough-looking office block near the city centre. On the 14th floor it got more like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story than ever. Two bored secretaries at a reception desk pointed us to a suite of empty offices that were probably rented by the hour. In one of the doorways stood Mr Greg - or it might have been Mr Bobby - Williams. He looked very Nigerian: he wore a superb tan suit, and his hands glittered with gold rings. The office, by contrast, was spartan: no pictures, no certificates. Even the filing trays still had the prices on them. We got down to business: meaning that Mr Williams started filling out a receipt form for the facility fee I had to pay before collecting my ?705,000. It was ?2,800 (£1,900). Where was he from, I asked conversationally. "South Africa." And where in South Africa? "I don't have to tell you that," said Mr Williams, instantly defensive. Did he have some certificate to show that he was working on behalf of the Spanish Lottery Commission? Not just at the moment; they were held by his associate. And the associate? He picked up the phone, and spoke in a language that was certainly not South African. At this point Mark, my brother-in-law, took a photograph of him with one of those new mobile phones. Unfortunately it made an artificial camera-shutter sound, and Mr Williams jumped up and walked across the room, speaking louder and more nervously than ever to his friend. In the meantime, I was able to get a look at the previous pages in the receipt book. There were five carbon copies ahead of the page he'd filled out for me. All were for even larger sums than the ?2,800 he wanted me to pay, and all were signed with British names. The fact that the top copy had been torn out in each case made it a fair assumption that the money in question had been handed over. I totted up the figures roughly in my head: they came to around ?18,000 (£12,500), and the payments had all been made during the previous month. No wonder Mr Williams could afford his gold rings. He didn't like the fact that I was looking at the receipt book, and he especially didn't like having his picture taken. Reinforcements were clearly on the way. It seemed like a pretty good time to go, so we shook hands and left without money changing hands. I suppose a genuine foot-in-the-door journalist would have had a showdown with him there and then. A colleague checked with the real Spanish Lottery Board, which has a reputation for being well-run, efficient and honest. They'd had several complaints about the scam which was being run by Nigerians working out of Madrid. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to realise that Mr Greg (or Mr Bobby) Williams will long since have checked out of his office suite, and if you call his home number, an operator tells you the number is no longer in use. But there will be another office, another phone, and another fax machine. There has to be: the scam is too profitable to give up. [John Simpson is the BBC's World Affairs Editor] *************************************************** 2 OCT 2003 From the Daily Times, a Nigerian newspaper: 419: How Ade Bendel took $500,000 from me: Egyptian General BY SAM POPOOLA AN Egyptian general, Ali Addel-Azim Attia ( Rtd), on Tuesday, told an Ikeja High Court how he came into the country with $500,000 in his bag, which he alleged was fraudu-lently taken from him by Alumile Adedeji, a.k.a. Ade Bendel. Attia is the complainant in the ongoing trial of Ade Bendel and one Olafemi Ayeni, a.k.a. Sadiq Fulani over Advance Fee Fraud, a.k.a. 419. In his evidence, Attia said he travelled to Nigeria through the Lagos airport with his money which, according to him, he did not declare at the immigration department. He said his failure to declare the money was not because he was carrying a diplomatic passport as he did not carry any. According to the witness, he had earlier had a contact with Ade Bendel, who introduced himself as a manager in Worldwide Organisation, with the name of Ibrahim Ahmed. He testified that Ade Bendel gave him a document which bore his (Egyptian General) name with a credit of $500 million in Worldwide Organisation. Attia said Ahmed also faxed to him in London another document, which corroborated the earlier information, as well as asked him to remit $2.15 million, to facilitate the payment of the $500 million credited to him in the organisation. After much arguments from both the prosecution and defence, the court admitted the two documents as exhibits, saying they were relevant in the matter. The witness further said that of all the money given to the accused, only $2,500 paid through a bank had receipt. The accused are standing trial on a two-count charge of duping the Egyptian General between May and December, 2001, at Ikeja, to the tune of $500,000 by various acts of false pretences. Further hearing has been fixed for October 2. ****************************************************** 19 SEP 2003 From The Guardian, a Nigerian newspaper: Welcome to Room 419 By Hope Eghagha IN an imaginary office building complex, next to the Managing Director's office is an unnumbered room, an office reserved for Special Assistants. The MD's office is marked '418'. Often he refers some visitors to see his team of aides next door. When they get there, they find that the room is not numbered. But inside, some very busy men and women are doing things to help the business grow. They are smartly dressed and remind one of those crazy fellows we see at the Stock Exchange who make dashes as if the fate of the entire world depended on their speed. Upon inquiry, the MD's personal assistant replies that the room remains unnumbered because of the negative connotations of Room 419. In a sense the idea of Room 419 has been obliterated from decent society, thanks to the crookedness of some Nigerians. Unfortunately, 419 has not been wiped out of our hearts! Just as we do not find the 13th floor in some buildings, so we may begin to obliterate Room 419 from labels on doors. Where I teach, there is a standing joke about course codes. Most departments are wary of naming any course 419. Who, for example, who would like to teach Philosophy 419 or Business Administration 419? Who would like to teach Law 419 or Islamic religion 419? Any Nigerian who sees the last code would think that the lecturer is a good teacher of 419 tricks. Room 419! In Nigeria, the figures 419 have come to be associated with advance fee fraud. Certainly, this form of business, if business one should call it, has been on in the country for many years. It is an open secret that some of the super rich men in the country got into stupendous wealth through this dark tunnel. Under this practice, a greedy man is made to part with goods, services or money to a phony deals' man. It is a multi-million dollar business. In the past, I have received letters from the felons and scoundrels who go about with ridiculous or fabulous stories. In one of such letters, the villain declared that he was the son of late President Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire. According to this rogue, his father left some money in an account somewhere and he wanted me to give an account number where the money would be paid into. I had been singled out on the recommendation of somebody he refused to mention and he did not want me to miss out on this golden opportunity! Yet another letter came through from a baboon who called himself the illegitimate son of the late Attorney-General and Minister for Justice. His father, according to him, left some money in a bank which he did not declare before he was assassinated. My role was to provide an account number into which this money would be paid. There was another that came from a man who called himself the DMD of one of the big three banks. According to him, a white man who worked for an oil company had died in an air crash. Because he did not leave a next of kin address, the crook wanted me to pose as a relation of the deceased to claim over two million dollars. For my trouble in posing as a relation, I would be paid a healthy 30% of the said sum. Now, what kind of human beings fall for such cheap tricks except the greedy and fraudulent? Of course, there are different forms of 419. Apart from the straight manipulation of figures, there is also 419 in the churches, in universities, in mosques, in banks and of course in the parastatals. Sometimes, government officials carry out 419 tricks on citizens. This they do by claiming to have the power to award contracts or move some big fellow somewhere to do something. 419 is now synonymous with devilish tricks. When a pastor promises and fails to heal a sick person, we all say 'Dis na 419! When the government asks citizens to vote in an election and the results run counter to the wishes of the people, we say it is 419. Now, how on earth can a 419 government fight the petty 419 boys? I really don't know. The other day, Kingpin Ajiduah threatened that hell would be let loose if he mentioned some names of highly placed persons involved in the game! I have continued to wait for that list to come. I simply hoped against hope. Nigerians would really like to know them. It was during the Abacha days that I learnt that some so-called traditional rulers in the South East are indeed chieftains in this form of business. How do they manage to get the titles? What can we say has become of our respect for the little decencies that held our communities together? How did a 419 man get into the Federal Legislative House? Was there no screening? Did he bribe his way initially? How many other crooks are in the legislature across the country? Are there some big time crooks in the executive arm of government? Are we ever going to ferret out these miserable worms of humanity? There is sense in which getting one's objective by tricks has become fashionable in the country. People call it being smart. Some communities honour these brigands with chieftaincy titles. Recently, the revered Oba of Benin turned 80. As a true son and grand keeper of the great Benin tradition, he has never, and will never honour any brigand with some concocted title. We cannot say this for all traditional rulers. Some have been known to give such hopeless titles as 'The Main-Source-of-Wealth of the Kingdom' or 'The Barking Dog' of the kingdom. It is a disgrace that some of our traditional institutions still find a place for such scoundrels. It is my view that any emir or Oba or king who honours an acknowledged crook with a chieftaincy title be jailed along with the criminal. If we manage to obliterate all rooms 419 but fail to wipe out the scourge from our society, we would be deceiving ourselves. Government itself is guilty of 419. Although the pump price of PMS has been increased, Nigerians are yet to experience a regular supply of the product. These rogues and tricksters have messed up the value systems of our land. Back at home, a little rat shows up after a brief absence with so much wealth that even his parents are stupefied. Next day, he is given a title and invited to all the big events. What message are we passing? The crook ends the day with a thanksgiving service where he donates a luxurious car to the Bishop! The bishop then blesses him with infinite gusto and commends the faith of this sharp and generous businessman! So with the Church, the government and Big Business, it is 'Welcome to Room 419'! ************************************************* 19 SEP 2003 From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper: Alleged 419: Ibekwe, Okoro's Trial Kicks Off By Victor Efeizomor The trial of re-elected Federal House of Representatives member, Morris Ibekwe and the proprietor of York Shine Hotel Lagos Christopher Okoro commenced yesterday before an Ikeja High Court, in the forgery allegation levelled against the duo, with the star witness Klaus Munch, a German national testifying before the court. Klaus who mounted the witness dock at about 10.30 a.m. told the court that in 1992 he received a letter from Nigeria offering him a business proposal to supply airport and navigational equipment. "I received the letter in an envelope and was addressed in my company's name which is Munch System Operation and I was very happy and interested in the business. "I contacted them through the telephone number on the letterheaded paper and a man introduced himself as a government official and offered to help secure the contract saying I should forward a copy of my company's registration paper as well as the private telephone number and the details of my bank account which should be opened in Germany." He said he never suspected any foul play as the man he spoke with introduced himself as Dr Iseral and a staff of the Federal Ministry of Aviation. He added that further correspondence were done on Federal Government letterheaded paper some of which were from the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as the official institutions were involved in the business. Klaus explained that in November 1992, he received a fax message, saying that his presence was needed in Nigeria as he was asked to bring along 75,000 US dollars and was asked to come through Cotonou because it was easier to get visa. "I received a fax on the 17th November 1992 and I was told my presence was needed in Nigeria to meet with some business partners. He asked for 75,000 US Dollars, I was asked to come in through Cotonou on the ground that it is easier to get visa. "I called him by the telephone number contained in the letter telling him that I will come to Nigeria. I agreed to come to Nigeria and asked of a proof of his activities. he replied and showed me paper of registration of my company, a letter from the Ministry of Aviation and Central Bank of Nigeria saying that the official institutions of Nigeria are involved in the business. However, when asked by the judge, Justice Kekere-Ekun to identify the Dr Iseral in the court room in an identification parade, Klaus pointed at Christopher Okoro, the second accused person. The defence counsel, Professor Osipitan while objecting to the line of argument stated that all the documents emanating from prosecution were public document as its not admissible in law to accept fax and forged copies. He added that all such documents should be original to qualify themselves to be original, that the prosecution should produce the original certified true copy for evidence as provided in Section 17, 2 Paragraph C of the Evidence Act. The prosecution, Mr Jacobs objected to the defence counsel's line of argument, saying that a public document tendered in evidence must not necessarily be a true certified copy as the fax documents are admissible because the facts of the issue as contained in Section 6 and 7 of the Evidence Act. Under this section, Jacobs pointed out that Section 6, the court is empowered to admit the document as the Corporate Affairs Commission has already denied knowledge of the document "hence it behoves on the court to say if it was forged or not." Further hearing on the matter has been fixed for today. *********************************************************** 14 SEP 2003 Here is a photo of 419er Paul Oseni, who was recently arrested in Belgium.
If you have more information on him Ultrascan in Holland
is interested, see our Links section for their site and
email addy.
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4 SEP 2003
From 1010 WINS Radio, New York:
Two Admit Roles In West Africa Money Scam
(1010 WINS) (NEWARK) Two African men pleaded guilty Thursday to scheming to sell a
useless counterfeiting scheme to someone they believed was a wealthy businessman.
The businessman actually was an undercover FBI agent investigating the "black money
scam," a swindle that prosecutors said used sleight of hand to make victims believe they can
create copies of currency using iodine and white sheets of paper.
Both men who pleaded guilty are cooperating with investigators. One of the men, Omar
M'Bamina, implicated three of the four African immigrants charged in the plot in June, Assistant
U.S. Attorney Richard E. Constable III said.
The scam originated in West Africa, and the charges against the group were the first brought in
New Jersey for the swindle, Constable said.
M'Bamina, 41, of Cameroon, and Mababa Gaye, 27, of Senegal, each pleaded guilty to a
conspiracy charge and face up to five years in prison when sentenced Dec. 11 by U.S. District
Judge Faith S. Hochberg. They are being held without bail.
Indicted and arrested in June were Jacque Taphehon, 51, and Rostand Tchinda, 29, of
Cameroon, and Assani Mara, 39, of Mali. They pleaded innocent and face trial Oct. 29.
Taphehon is free on bail. A fourth defendant, Jean Wabo, 33, of Cameroon, is a fugitive.
A superseding indictment in August accused them of conspiracy to alter U.S. currency, which
carries up to five years in prison, and three counts of altering currency, each of which carry up to
20 years in prison.
All had lived in Newark, where they are accused of convincing people they could transfer the
image of a $20 or $100 bill onto white strips of paper cut to the size of U.S. currency. One victim
paid $5,000 in the hope of getting counterfeits, Constable said.
The victims were told the white paper was the actual kind used to make real currency. The
defendants put iodine on the paper, causing it to darken, and then put a real $20 or $100 bill in
between the nearly black strips, the U.S. attorney's office said.
The scammers would then wash the strips, supposedly revealing two bills that looked identical
to U.S. currency. They would then take cash from the victims with the understanding that it would
be used to create more money for them in a few days, but never deliver, prosecutors said.
The bills that were "created" looked like actual bills because they were real currency. The
scammer swapped the blackened strips of paper with blackened bills, which were washed to
reveal the greenbacks, prosecutors said.
******************************************************
2 SEP 2003
From the Daily Independent, a Nigerian newspaper:
419: Crime commission intensifies search for fraudsters
By Oguwike Nwachuku,
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) have intensified their
search for suspected fraudsters following reports that such persons have gone underground.
The search for the 419ners, Daily Independent learnt, was sequel to directives which the
commission received recently from the authorities.
"But most of them have gone under, including abandoning their families and businesses for fear
of being arrested," a member of the commission told this newspaper in Lagos.
It was learnt the government has charged the Nuhu Ribadu-led commission to ensure that the
suspected fraudsters are fished out, particularly before the meeting of the Commonwealth
Heads of Government slated for Nigeria in December.
Daily Independent learnt that following the arrest and detention of some of the suspects,
including Chief Maurice Ibekwe and Chief Fred Ajudua, among others, whose cases are
already in court, other suspects believed to be close to them have gone underground. While
some of them have fled the country for fear of being arrested, others are said to have
abandoned their businesses and other places where they used to be regular callers.
But the manhunt for the fraudsters is not restricted to Nigeria as our source said that the
commission has been keeping a close eye on those on its wanted list in some parts of Europe
and America.
419 Coalition note: Though we appreciate the efforts of the EFCC,
419 Coalition does not agree that the evidence supports the points
made by the EFCC spokesman in the article above. In fact, we
sent a note to EFCC on that which included the following self
explanatory remarks:
"...regarding the recent news article on how the 419ers
have been "driven underground" there, we beg to differ and
note that continued release of "bull" press releases like
that does Nothing whatever for EFCC credibility. Arrests,
convictions, recovered funds, and repatriations to victims,
now Those things do something for EFCC credibility."
*************************************************
31 AUG 2003
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
The New Anti-Crime Czar
From a simple background, despite having a cabinet minister as a father, Nuhu
Ribadu, chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has
been thrust to national limelight going by the nature of his job. Samuel Ajayi
looks at this man, his acts and deeds since he took up the job on May 9 this
year
Were Nuhu Ribadu, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, to believe in the Signs of the Zodiac, then perhaps those
around him might have been able to establish a correlation between his
exploits at the Commission and his zodiac sign. Ribadu was born on
November 11, 1960 and that makes him a Scorpio. And those who know how to
gaze into the Crystal Ball will tell you that one of the behavioural assets of those
born under this sign is their never-say-die spirit and firm belief that anything
worth doing at all is worth doing well. A Scorpio could be aggressive, and at
times for the good reasons. And if this is so, then Ribadu has an anticedent.
It might not be his star that has been having influence on him. Perhaps his
parentage. His father became a minister of the Republic when Nuhu was five
years old. Then his father was named the Commissioner of State for Finance
and Economic Planning, under the regime of the late Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa. But that did not guarantee any special privilege for Nuhu and his
siblings. They had to learn about life the way ordinary kids in the hot streets of
Yola were learning then. And it was around this time, when his father was
named a minister, that he started schooling at Mustapha Primary School, Yola,
in 1966.
Going to school was always bare-footed, just like the son of the roadside
cobbler who also wanted his son to learn the ways of the white man. He
confirmed this himself when he said, during an interview to a weekly
newsmagazine: "We went barefoot to schools. I am not different in terms of
privilege. And my father was such a person that in our compound alone, we
had so many people of different backgrounds and different religions coming to
stay with us." And as child, there were no holidays abroad. His father would
never give that to his children.
Even when he went to Yelwa Government Secondary School, in the same
Yola, it was still a continuation of the same Spartan life that he had been
introduced to years earlier when he was at the primary school. Even if the father
was a man of means, the sheer number of children was enough to make sure
that none was likely to get any special attention. Alhaji Ahmadu Ribadu, Nuhu's
father, had three wives and thirty children. There were a score less one males
and eleven girls. Nuhu's mother, Fadimatu, was the eldest of the wives but she
is now deceased.
Nuhu did not just rise up to where he is today. Though Mother Luck can claim
have played a role, but he himself has assisted Providence to play a good
role. After studying law at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, between 1980
and 1983, he came to Lagos, where there was the only Law School then, to be
called into the Bar. Completing his compulsory one-year National Service in
1984, he did the unusual; he opted for the police.
He did not just join the police. Gambo Jimeta, a former Inspector-General of
Police and Nuhu's Adamawa kinsman, played a role. He knew he would be an
asset to the police and he prevailed upon him to take up the job. He rose to
become an Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP, and today the head of the
agency responsible for fighting the scourge of sleaze in the country.
His appointment as the head of the Commission did not come easy. There was
opposition. And this hovered around the fact that he was too junior in the police
to head such a very sensitive agency. However, impeccable sources told
THISDAY that apart from his own pedigree, he was said to have been in the
good books of the Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and the National Security
Adviser, NSA, Lt. General Mohammed Aliyu Gusau (rtd). And these top
government officials played a role in making sure he got the job. In fact, when
he was even nominated, he was outside the country on an official assignment.
"I was out of the country. I was on an assignment outside the country. Then I
heard that I was one of the people pencilled down for the appointment. I think it
was done primarily, because the law itself said the chairman has to be a
member of the security service, serving or retired who will head the
Commission," Ribadu explained.
And then the job started.
The Job
Fighting financial crimes needs a lot of guts. And the reason is there. Those
who engage in Advance Fee Fraud, otherwise known as 419, have money,
plenty of it. And oftentimes, they are able to buy justice. For instance, Morris
Ibekwe, a serving member of the House of Representatives, was arraigned by
the EFCC on May 30 this year. Ibekwe was not alone that day. With him were
Ade Alumile, otherwise known as Ade Bendel, and Fred Ajudua, a Lagos
socialite.
For Ibekwe, had he not been arrested by operatives of the EFCC, he would
have been one of those presiding over the passage of the law setting up the
Commission. Trailing him in his Abuja official residence at Block 64, Flat 2, and
his Okwelle hometown in Imo State, it was not long before Ibekwe discovered
that trouble might be lurking in the corner for him.
Ibekwe had allegedly posed as a top official of the Federal Ministry of
Transport and Aviation to a company based in Germany that was into
electronics. He said the ministry would want the outfit, Munch
Systemorganisation, to provide some materials such as computers, monitors
and landing aides for the Abuja Airport. This was as far back as 1992. By 1993,
the German outfit's pointsman came to Nigeria, believing that it was a juicy offer
which they could not resist. Little did they know that they were in to be done in.
After the German had been given a lavish reception, his swindlers, reportedly
led by Ibekwe, knew he had been hooked. Even before he entered the country,
he had parted with over $100,000 and later, after he had been taken to Abuja
and lodged at NICON Hilton, he coughed out another $100,000 which,
according to Ibekwe and his co-travelers, was to be for "security." Whatever
that meant, the German never asked.
By the time Klaus realised what was happening, he had been made to part with
over $300,000. And by this time, Ibekwe and his men had run away. The
German reported to the police and it was discovered that the "top Ministry of
Transport and Aviation official" was no one other than the same Ibekwe now
representing Okigwe North Federal Constituency at the Lower Chamber of the
National Assembly.
During investigations, Ibekwe had told men of the EFCC that he was being
persecuted because of his political leanings, especially over the face-off
between former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar
Na'Abba, and President Olusegun Obasanjo. Ribadu's men were not
impressed. And it served as a fore-taste of what to expect from this top police
officer from Yola.
But before Ibekwe, there had been other financial crime suspects like Fred
Ajudua and Ade Alumile. In fact, Ajudua had always behaved like a king and
an untouchable for that matter. Their arrest and subsequent appearance in
court was as a result of weeks of hide and seek between the 419 linch-pins and
security agents, especially men of the EFCC. If the duo and another of their co-
traveler, Emmanuel Nwude, are eventually convicted, it would be a great
achievement for Ribadu.
However, it would not be with these fraudsters that the battle will start and end.
The brief of the Commission also extends to banks. And here, Ribadu would
be on a familiar ground. He, alongside former Attorney-General and Minister of
Justice and now a Presidential Adviser, Kanu Agabi, were members of the
Failed Banks Tribunal set up by the regime of the late Sani Abacha to probe
the rot that were banks in the early to mid nineties.
Those who know say it is not going to be an easy job for Ribadu. The reason
being that banks hoard information so much that even the Central Bank, the
body that is supposed to supervise the banks, at times is hoodwinked through
cooked up figures which do not reflect the situation of things in the banks.
Sleaze in banks is not really discovered until the banks have become
distressed. And distressed is often caused by unpaid loans, outright fraud and
false financial health when the real situation is otherwise.
Will Ribadu be able to tackle this?
During the inauguration of the Commission on May 9 this year, Ribadu said
there was no point saying what financial crimes have done to the image of the
country. "You see, this 419 thing has caused a lot of embarrassment for the
country. The image of the country had been destroyed. We now have a
situation where Nigerians are regarded as common criminals wherever we go
all over the world. So we feel we should start from that point. We know these
people. They have been feeling very free, like nothing can ever happen to
them. So we felt that probably we should start from that point. Let's bring them to
justice," he told THISDAY.
Ribadu has every reason to be worried. Last year alone, over N15billion was
estimated as the value of cases of fraud and forgeries by banks doing
business in the country. This covered only three months. And it was like there
was an arithmetical progression in the figure. In 1990, the figure was
N2.85billion; 2000 it was N7.40billion and in 2001, the figure had risen to
N11.24billion.
While many know it is not going to be an easy fight, they are equally impressed
with the fact that Ribadu seems determined to make sure that success is
achieved in the battle against financial crimes. Unassuming man determined to
make a name for himself, Nuhu Ribadu had represented the police at the
Oputa Panel which probed human rights abuses under the military. At the
Panel, he held his own high. To him, death could come anytime. And that is why
he says he sees his assignment at the EFCC as a man who has gone to the
join the army. "It is either they kill you, or you kill someone. That is how it is," he
says. His first job, probably, would have been as an Assistant Secretary at the
Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC. In fact, he also got a job at the household
itmes giants, Pattersons and Zocchonis, PZ, and United Bank for Africa, UBA.
But he left all these because "all these places were not for me. I am not a man
who is moved by money or business. I always wanted to serve, a public
service kind of job, having come from a public service family. And I believe that
is the right place for me to be, and that is where I can get satisfaction of life. I
decided to join the police in spite of all family protestations." Speaking to
THISDAY on the man Nuhu Ribadu, Danladi Bako, former Director-General of
the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, said he is a man that is not afraid
of death. "He is a hardworking man who has paid his dues. I am aware that
when he was to be appointed, there were those who thought because of his
rank, he should not head such a sensitive agency, but I think he has proved
them wrong. He is quite humble and I believe he will succeed. He is ready to
give anything to the job; including his life."
If Nuhu Ribadu looks back today, perhaps he will always thank his star, the
Scorpio, that he made the right choice of career.
*************************************************
29 AUG 2003
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
419: FG Investigates Bank Accounts
By Ayodele Aminu
The Federal Government in its bid to track down money laundering and fraudulent transactions
perpetrated through the Nige-rian banking system, has spread its dragnet to the bank accounts
of the suspected fraudsters.
THISDAY checks revealed yesterday that the government has launched a major investigation
into the pattern of transactions carried out through the accounts, with a specific interest in
knowing the sources of some of the large scale financial dealings in which Nigerian banks are
involved both locally and abroad.
A top government official told THISDAY yesterday that the perpetrators of Advance fee fraud,
otherwise known as 419, had perfected a way of evading scrutiny by colluding with the staff of
some banks to hide the nature of their businesses.
"In most cases," the source said, "the managements of the banks are kept in the dark on the
nature of the transactions. We discovered that it is usually the staff that collude with the money
launderers."
He revealed, however, that many of the banks are "co-operating with us and helping to track
those accounts." The suspected fraudsters are expected to be charged to court as soon as the
courts resume from their current recess.
The Federal Government had in response to international pressure, established the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) three months ago, in order to battle economic and
financial crimes perpetrated by Nigerians. The activities of the fraudsters had drastically
affected the efforts of the Federal Government to bring foreign investors to the country.
THISDAY also learnt that the EFCC is currently investigating two ailing banks in order to begin
prosecution of all those indicted in the activities that brought the banks to the present condition.
Early in the year, Fred Ajudua, a lawyer from Ibusa, Delta State and Adedeji Alumile, a Lagos
socialite popularly called Ade Bendel and Morris Ibekwe, a member of the House of Repre-
sentatives representing Okigwe North Federal Constituency of Imo State were arraigned in a
Lagos High Court with an eight count charge that border on forgery and impersonation
slammed on them.
Ibekwe, former House Com-mittee chairman on Police, was said to have defrauded one Munch
Klaus, a German national of about $300,000 and DM 75,000 in 1992. He had allegedly deceived
Klaus into believing that German Electronics, which Klaus heads would be awarded a contract
to deliver computers, monitors, radar systems accessories and other needed equipment at
Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Ibekwe allegedly posed as the Accountant-
General of the Ministry of Transport and Aviation.
Ajudua who has been in and out of detention on several cases of Advanced Fee Fraud, was
arraigned at the Lagos High Court in connection with a N234 million scam against Remy Cima
and Pierra Vijgen, two Dutch between 1999 and 2000. The two Dutch citizens had allegedly
fallen to the proposition by Ajudua and his group to transfer a sum of N36 million to their
accounts from the Federal Ministry of Aviation.
Ajudua, who allegedly posed as Isa Audu, the Auditor-General of Nigeria, had visited London
three times but did not take note that he was being filmed by a BBC reporter. It was only when
the tape was shown on BBC television that Cima knew that $1,698,338 he and his colleague had
paid him had been a fleece.
Ajudua and Ade Bendel, who are facing several charges are also said to be involved in the
case of Frieda Springer-Beck, 54, a German national who was duped of about $300,000.
Springer-Beck was so devastated by the fraud that she packed her bags and moved to
Nigeria, where she has settled down to form an association to help victims of fraud.
Also arrested two months ago by the EFCC was Emmanuel Nwude - Odenigwe, the kingpin who
allegedly masterminded the defrauding of Nelson Sakaguchi, a Brazilian Bank manager, of the
sum of $242 million.
Nwudu, and Ikechukwu Anajemba (now late) had in 1995 embarked on the journey to defraud
Sakaguchi which not only turned out to be the greatest yield in Advance Fee Fraud for any
Nigerian but also allegedly led to the collapse of Banco Noroeste, a bank in Brazil.
Sakaguchi was a director of the International Department of Branco Noreste, with its
headquarters in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In the said deal, Nwude posed as Paul Ogwuma, then
Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria. His accomplice, Ikechukwu who played out as Rasheed
Gomwalk, Director of International Remittance in CBN died some time in 1998.
**************************************************
23 AUG 2003
From the Nigerian publication Weekly Trust:
Nigeria on verge of complete destruction
Nuhu Ribadu, Financial Crime Commission Boss
By Abdul Fattah Olajide, in Lagos
Weekly Trust: The task before you is a very daunting one. Do you think we have the political will
in this country to fight corruption and economic crimes?
Ribadu: I hope so and I pray that we do have. We have reached a stage where we either act or
do something, or else all these things are going to destroy the country. We are almost on the
verge of being destroyed completely; you could see our image outside. Now we are almost
reaching a stage where the international community, particularly the finance sector, is
threatening to sack Nigeria out completely. So whether we have the political will or not, we have
reached a state of emergency. Something must be done to sort of bring us back. Otherwise, we
are heading for a complete collapse.
WT: Recently, Transparency International adjudged Nigeria as the second most corrupt nation
in the world and it noted that corruption in the country was most prevalent in the Presidency itself.
With this scenario, how are we going to combat economic crimes effectively?
Ribadu: I don’t want to hold that view myself personally. No, I wouldn’t subscribe to that.
Although I wouldn’t say that there is no corruption in the country, but definitely, things are not as
terribly bad as being portrayed. One of the indices people are using, particularly this
Transparency International, is that they look at our record of conviction. They look at how much
money we are spending and see what is the level of development and things like that. They
look at our relation with the outside world. What are they saying about us? And then they will
come back and say yes, agreed! At least, the government is doing something. It is fighting that
corruption. This ICPC thing was established at the beginning of this administration.
Unfortunately, it has not been able to have a successful record of conviction, which is a very
serious set-back. But on the other hand, there are so many other measures the government
took, particularly controlling, minimising and reducing corruption, at least in the government and
government establishments. What is left now probably is to work hard in punishing those
people who are also liable for corruption and corruption-related offences. This is what we
should concentrate on.
WT: In your own opinion, why has it been difficult for the ICPC to get anybody convicted since it
was set up?
Ribadu: That is one of the bugling questions (laughs). That I will not able to understand myself.
But I think principally, the issue of conviction is with the court. Basically, the job of the ICPC is to
arrest people, prosecute and investigate them and then get them to court. I don’t know how
many cases they have in the court, but convicting or punishing people is with the court. So
whatever the case is, I believe it is not just the ICPC, it is the entire people of the country. How
are we going to face this problem? How are we going to face it? All the institutions will have to
come together-the judiciary, the legislators did their own part by passing that law, the executive
is doing their own by implementing and enforcing the law. And then the remaining part is for the
judiciary to award punishment, convict people, and send people to jail. Anything short of that will
render the entire work that the legislators and the executive are doing absolutely fruitless. When
they are there in court, if the court frees them, it will render all the work they have done useless.
So that is where some of the problems are; it is not just the ICPC.
WT: With the establishment of your own commission and its comprehensive power on financial
crimes, do you think the ICPC is still necessary?
Ribadu: Yes, it is operating differently. My own is the financial and economic crimes. What that
means is if you go by what our law says, we are specifically assigned to enforce some laws
already in existence. Like the advance fee fraud law, the money laundering law, the failed
banks and other banking related offences law, the miscellaneous offences law. And we are
also responsible for co-coordinating and regulating the entire sector, advise the government to
be able to come out with programmes that will minimise and reduce the incidence of economic
and financial crimes. On the other hand, ICPC is on public corruption, telling of government
money. Basically, that is their own responsibility, involving public officers and protecting public
funds. My own is not just public funds only, it also involves private funds, more particularly the
private sector aspect of it. So you can see the difference. I don’t think they (ICPC) will be
irrelevant so long as they do their work; I hope and pray that we will start seeing results from
them.
WT: Sure your commission is empowered to co-ordinate and enforce all economic and
financial crime, laws. Is there a kind of overlap and duplication of responsibilities between your
commission and the ICPC?
Ribadu: If it involves economic and financial crimes, yes. What I’m trying to do is to give you a
simple nutshell distinguishing our responsibility. They are more or less going to be in charge of
the private aspect of it. I will also, because if there is a case involving corruption and it is brought
to me, and it has a relation with the economic and financial crimes, definitely I will go into it. I will
handle it, but I think basically to assign specific responsibility, we are in charge of the private
sector, and they are in charge of the public corruption. The police are going to be in charge of
violent crimes, community policing like maintenance of law and order, fighting armed robbery
and things like that.
WT: Recently, a case of bribery and tax evasion involving Halliburton was recorded.
Ribadu: I am waiting for someone to bring that case to me, I will take action.
WT: You mean you cannot get on the case yourself?
Ribadu: I can, but you know we are just three weeks old (at the time of interview). We have just
started working. In this country and this is probably a record-breaking phenomenon, we were
commissioned about three weeks ago, and we have got cracking so soon. You can see the
work we have done so far. You can see the number of arrests we have been able to make. We
have sent people to court today; I have several people now that are being investigated here
and there. These cases you are talking about are things that we will go into. But my immediate
worry and concern is this 419 thing, which has done so much damage to Nigeria. Any Nigerian
who travels knows what I am talking about. We have no honour, we have no reputation and we
have no dignity. I mean no respect outside the country. If you call yourself a Nigerian, first and
foremost, they look at you as a thief, as a crook, as a fraudster. Certainly, it is the biggest
problem and I am looking at it as a sort of emergency, something that we must address. I don’t
have many resources to be able to go into full war that will stop everything at once.
WT: But are you promising Nigerians?
Ribadu: Definitely! But like I told you, there are so many things to do. The place is so rotten. So
many bad things are going on, so you must take one thing at a time. I have very few people with
me now, extremely few. We don’t have many resources.
WT: I was just going to ask you. How prepared is your commission for the task ahead?
Ribadu: Right now, we are just starting. We don’t have much but I have this belief that we will get
big support from the government. The president is extremely concerned about this problem. He
gave me the confidence that "look go and do this work, I’m ready to give you a hundred per
cent support." Already, I have started seeing the support. I believe that in this assignment, we
will get all the necessary support that we require from the government. So far, it has been quite
positive. All the indices show that. Right now, I’m at the stage of coming out with my blueprint, my
organogram, my structure. This is what we are doing. I have assembled a quality number of
people who are working on that, with the active support of the Bureau of Public Enterprises. We
will soon start looking at the implementation stage. While we are doing that, I have started the
operational aspect of the work which I believe is more or less like I told you an emergency
thing. I must face this problem immediately; I have my skeletal operational staffs that are doing
what we have been doing so far. But you know, it is going to be very difficult and an expensive task.
WT: The 419 kingpins who have just been arrested have been regular customers of the police
and the law courts. But surprisingly, many of the cases against them have been thrown out. Will
your own case be any different?
Ribadu: This is one of the biggest problems we’ve been facing in this country, dishonesty!
People are terribly dishonest. People don’t do their work; institutions that are assigned to do
their work do not do it. They allow themselves to be compromised. That is why this people have
been having their own way, doing what they like, getting away with that. We are different. We
want to be different and we will not be compromised. We will be honest with what we are doing.
We will have the fear of God in what we are doing and what we are going to do is going to be
tactical, thoughtful and transparent. Every Nigerian will see and we will try to carry everybody
along. If we get someone, we are going to arrest him. We are going to tell Nigerians what he
has done. We are going to take him to court and Nigerians will know the court he is going and I
pray and hope that everybody will follow such trials, so that everybody will see where the
problem is. Because every office you go, everybody is ready to get compromised. These
people are extremely rich, very rich people and they can afford to pay their way out. That is
what they have been doing in the last fifteen years. They have had a good sort of control since
about 1996, 97, 98. But ever since, the whole thing has turned back again and the belief is that
we are going to be different. We will not be corrupt. Corruption is the main problem and that is
why we have not been able to achieve anything. Corruption is within the agencies. Corruption is
in the judiciary. Corruption is all over. If we will be able to tackle that, I assure you that these
cheap criminals, these crooks will not have their way. We will deal with them.
WT: However hard you work, the success of your commission still depends on the judiciary.
Are you sure of getting the necessary cooperation of the judiciary?
Ribadu: What you have said is true, because my commission does not have the power of
punishment. We don’t award punishment to offenders. Our own like I told you is to investigate,
prosecute and take them to court. And that is where it stops. We have no power to confiscate
anybody’s property or permanently keep it away from them. We don’t have the power to send
anyone to prison, unlike agencies like NAFDAC that can ban. Otherwise, it will not be possible
for us to solve this problem at all. So my prayer goes to the judiciary. We are appealing to the
leadership of the judiciary, from the chief justice of the federation down to the different divisions
we have in this country, the Federal High Court, the Court of Appeal, the State High Court,
because this is the time for us to start doing what is right for this country. So let us give justice to
Nigerians. The biggest problem we are facing in Nigeria today is lack of justice. No social
justice. No criminal justice. You do what you like and you go free. Anybody who is cheated in
Nigeria today takes extra-judicial measures to get his money back. This is simple logic.
Everybody knows you will not go to court and say you will get justice and that is the reason why
we have difficulty in getting any foreign investment into the country. Who will bring his money into
a place where he doesn’t even have guarantee for not only his property, but his life? The
moment we establish the rule of law further where people will have the confidence in and feel
the protection of the law, I assure you, not only will foreign investments come, but you’ll see a
complete change, a reversal of our fortunes. Unless we do that and the only institution that can
do that is the judiciary. If the judiciary today will start doing their work, giving justice to people,
ensuring that people are protected, I assure you things will change. Their work even has a
direct link with the law enforcement agencies. If the law enforcement agencies know that there is
justice in the court, I assure you, they themselves will do justice. But in most cases, people
believe that if you take a case to court, that is where it will end. That makes even the policeman
take bribe and finish the case at his own level. This is what is happening. When I was in the
police, we used to have people insisting on going to court, attempting to bribe us to take their
case to court, because they believe that the moment it goes to court, that is the end of the case,
and this is almost true. Look at Nigeria today. You talk about us being ranked as the second
most corrupt country in the world, but we don’t have even a single conviction for corruption
cases in Nigeria! Look at the advance free fraud, we don’t have people serving jail terms and
we are the number one nation of advance free fraud in the world. There are 419ers who are in
jail all over the world. You go to England, you go to America, they are being sent to jail. In
Nigeria, none! No one is serving any jail term for 419. At least not convicted by a Federal High
Court in Nigeria. There is something wrong with us. There is a big problem here, so that is what
we must address. Unless we do that, unless the judiciary changes, there is no hope for us. We
must start punishing our offenders, otherwise, we will not be able to stop others from copying
them. This is the best form of deterrent. Punish those who have offended, then it will now be less
attractive for people to go into that area. But the moment you celebrate them, the moment you
now make your offenders, as the celebrities, as the big people in the society, they are the ones
who get all whatever is good in the society always - chieftaincy titles and so on. They are the
ones who are recognised wherever they go. Then you are telling your entire incoming
generation to go into the same thing. Because they will always see who is there to copy and
then they will see these people as the most flashy and the most attractive in the society. Look at
this 419 thing, it started like a joke, but everybody, all those boys you see around one way or
the other are involved in it. And unfortunately we don’t punish our own offenders.
WT: Why has it been difficult for the judiciary to live up to its responsibilities?
Ribadu: It is corruption, sorry to say. What else? There is nothing apart from corruption - in the police, the judiciary and institutions like that. All the agencies that are responsible for the
dispensation of justice, it is just corruption. The corruption starts from the investigation stage.
The case will both be properly investigated. If it goes to court, it will not be properly prosecuted.
Even if it is done, there will be no justice at the end of the day.
WT: So what can be done to make judges incorruptible?
Ribadu: I believe there are some good ones. The good ones should take over to be able to
give proper image to the judiciary. I know so very many incorruptible judges in this country and
there are a lot of them around. Hopefully, people like them will take over, not to allow these bad
ones to give them bad image.
WT: Some of the foreigners defrauded by the 419ers are all craving for justice. Shouldn’t they
also be treated as accomplices for the fact that they also had the intention of defrauding the
country before advancing money to the 419ers?
Ribadu: What is the intention when there is no contract? Most cases, there is nothing. No
contract for you to say that they want to defraud the country. If you say yes, from whom do they
want to take money? NNPC or CBN? (Laughs). There is no money there. Even if you want to go
after them, there is nothing for you. The whole thing is a scam. Assuming that this thing is real,
that is, if there is a contract, then you will say yes. Then you could go after them for conspiracy or
co-conspirators or whatever you want to term or regard that. But in this case, it is a scam; the
whole thing is fictitious, false. Nothing is in existence, so you just don’t go catching in vain. If I go
to court, they should know why. That he wants to cheat CBN, where is the money? Which
contract? That is the first thing they will ask. So you can’t hold them at all and it is not even good
for us to look at it that way. These people are Nigerians. They are the ones who are giving us
bad names and image. Giving false thing to the international community. If we start looking at it
from the point of also punishing their own victims, I doubt very much if we will be able to solve
this problem. Let’s concentrate on punishing our own people here first.
WT: But they are also liable because they fell for it!
Ribadu: (Cuts in) If you say they are greedy, that is a human factor, and you don’t punish people
for being greedy. It is not in our criminal law to press for that. If you say they are greedy, I agree
with you and they are victims of their own greed. Fine! But that does not mean we are going to
leave our criminals. And for your information, it will be very difficult for you to successfully punish
or convict the 419ers unless you get the support of their victims, including the possibility of
coming to testify. So if you say you are going to punish him, you are destroying the case. You
should punish the fraudster himself. But if there is a foreigner involved in the 419 case, good! I
will go after him; I will arrest any foreigner involved.
WT: Have you secured the support of the victims of 419 in the cases you are prosecuting
currently?
Ribadu: Yes! So far, we have been able to do that. If it will even involve paying for them to come
and testify. Even if means that I will give them a hundred per cent security. They will come here,
they will testify and they will go, and I will try and see if it is possible for me to even retrieve their
stolen money and give them back. I will work on that, with the support of the court.
WT: If it is not possible for you to retrieve the stolen money, is the government going to
compensate the victims?
Ribadu: I don’t think so, because the government has nothing to do with that. You cannot take
public funds and pay for such a thing. The 419er must pay. And if he fails to pay, he will be liable
for it for the rest of his life.
WT: What is the highest punishment for 419?
Ribadu: We have different measures, but the average has 10 years in jail and so on. There is
this provision for restitution in the law. You must pay back the money to your victim, and I intend
to really implement that aspect strictly. If you take somebody’s money, I will not leave you. I will
go after you, whoever you are, I will retrieve it. I will take back and give it to the person with the
support of the court.
WT: Why do you think the case of the 419 is still prevalent and a lot of people are still falling
victim to it despite the general level of awareness about it?
Ribadu: I think it is basically because in Nigeria, we fail to punish them. We have not addressed
the problem at all, so it is encouraging so many people to come into it. I’ll give you an example.
From the statistics, more than 80% of firms or houses in America have received scam letters
from Nigeria. More than 90% of houses in Germany or firms receive these scam letters. There
was a time when I was in the police and we arrested someone with over one million scam
letters. So it is a matter of trial. One person will send so many letters and now with the availability
of addresses, we can get them from the internet, from telephone directories, from business
catalogue and so on. So many! They will just copy all these things to somebody. Now they use
e-mail, it is very easy. In a short distance, you can send so many letters through that. The
chances are that they will catch one or two out of them. Most of the letters that are sent don’t get
replied but the chances are there. Even though it is slim, it will be there. But because of this
human factor, the greed is there, and there are so many innocent people in the world who can
just easily fall victim to whatever you tell them. So if you send about 10,000 letters, probably
about five will get replied and that has been the case of what is going on. But our big problem is
that we in Nigeria fail to address the problem at all. I think now they are going to be serious
about it. We tried around 1995, 96, 97 and 98. To some extent, we succeeded and some of them
started leaving the country for Benin Republic, Ghana, and South Africa and so on. But after that,
when we came to democracy, they came back. But now, I have amendment before the National
Assembly that will help us address the problem seriously and with this commitment and the will
to fight it, we believe that this time, we will be able to address the problem. You can see clearly
that already, they have started running out. Most of them are just selling their properties and
getting out. Things will not be the same again.
WT: What is your commission doing in terms of public enlightenment about economic and
financial ...?
Ribadu: (Cuts in) We are going to make serious and massive publicity to educate Nigerians of
our activities on the evil of these crimes and how to prevent them. So far, we have been getting
very positive response from the press. People are extremely enthusiastic about it. In Nigeria,
one thing I’ve realised is that if we are doing what is right, people will come along and support it,
particularly the press. They are more concerned that any group in this country is doing what is
right and I think if they identify anything that is right or done properly, they will always give it
support. Hopefully, it is going to continue that way. The assurance I will give is that we will
continue to be honest with what we are doing. We will continue to be transparent. Publicity is
central to our own activities. We intend to be at the centre of everything and we pray that we will
be able to continue.
WT: Personally, how equipped are you to handle this job?
Ribadu: It is just my resolve and will to do what is right. I will assure you that I have been doing
this work for a long time and I will continue to do it. The will is there, the determination is there
and I believe the understanding is there as well.
WT: Since you took over this job, have there been any threats to your life?
Ribadu: I have started receiving them from text messages (he brought out some copies). Even
telephones. Funny enough, I’m not afraid. I’m used to this. I have handled so many cases even while in the police. I’m not scared of any criminal and I will not be scared of a cheap crook. I’m
doing what is right for this country and I will continue to do it. Nothing will deter me. I will not go out
to anybody for the sake of that. No way. I have the fear of God in me. I will do what is right and
believe that I will have God on my side. Nothing will happen to me insha Allah.
**************************************************************
18 AUG 2003
From the Sacramento Business Journal:
Elk Grove man admits Nigerian scam conspiracy
Roland Adams, 37, of Elk Grove, entered guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy to commit mail
and wire fraud and to launder money as part of an international "Nigerian bank scam" that
defrauded its victims of more than $2.1 million, federal prosecutors said Monday.
Adams admitted that from February 2001 to June 2002 he and conspirators in Nigeria, South
Africa and Canada operated the scheme, also known as an advance fee fraud or "4-1-9 fraud"
after the section of Nigeria's penal code that covers fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's
office in Sacramento.
In such scams, victims agree to help government officials remove millions of dollars from
African bank accounts in return to a share of the proceeds. They typically are asked to provide
information about their bank accounts and pay an upfront "fee," typically 1 percent of the total
"transfer" amount. In reality, the accounts don't exist and the "fees" are siphoned to the
conspirators.
Adams admitted that he and international co-conspirators sent solicitation letters that appeared
to be from African government officials or agencies, according to a statement by U.S. Attorney
McGregor Scott.
The recipients who took the bait typically were asked to front 1 percent of the cash in the
fictitious accounts -- an amount that could reach several hundred thousand dollars -- as a fee to
facilitate the diversion of cash. Some sent the fees to individuals in South Africa or Canada,
while others were told to wire the cash to international bank accounts. Some of the cash
collected was sent back to Adams, investigators said.
Adams registered Web site domains for several fictitious banks and had Web sites set up so
that victims could "track the progress" of the fictitious fund transfers.
He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to commit mail and wire
fraud and up to 20 years and $500,000 for conspiracy to launder money, plus mandatory
restitution. Sentencing is set for Oct. 27.
A separate trial is scheduled for Sept. 22 before U.S. District Judge Edward Garcia on the
government's motion to seize Adams' Elk Grove home, more than $87,000 seized from his
accounts, a computer and the Internet domains used in the scheme.
Adams was the owner of Sacramento-based Adams Business Services, which had an office on
J Street downtown. There was no answer Monday at the phone number listed for the business in
an Internet phone directory. The directory listed the business as a marketing consultant,
although prosecutors said Adams has also said he was in the textile importing business.
In addition, the Nigeria-born Adams faces charges that he made false statements during his
May 2001 interview to become a naturalized U.S. citizen, when he said he had not been
involved in any crime for which he had not been arrested. If convicted, he could face up to 10
years in prison, be deported and have his citizenship revoked.
**********************************************************
17 AUG 2003
From The Observer, UK:
A world wide web of fraud
Conal Walsh reveals how gullible UK businesses may be losing £200m a year to West African
con artists
George Agbinone and Monsulu Adeko can consider themselves pretty unlucky. They don't
know each other, but both are West African confidence tricksters. Both took part in 'begging
letter' frauds - raising an estimated £500,000 and £1.2 million, respectively. And both, unusually,
got caught.
The convictions of Agbinone and Adeko followed lengthy investigations by the Serious Fraud
Office (SFO) and the City of London police, and were rare victories for law enforcement.
Privately, detectives concede they are fighting a losing battle against a widening array of
scams masterminded from West Africa.
Londoners alone are now receiving an estimated 100,000 different 'begging letters' a year,
most believed to be sent from Nigeria, and the National Criminal Intelligence Service believes
British companies and individuals could be losing up to £200m a year from the fraud.
Other businesses have gone bust after Nigerian hoaxers stole their mail to obtain their financial
details and persuaded their banks to transfer large sums out of their accounts.
'We're dealing with very clever people here,' says a senior Fraud Squad detective. 'In their
dealings with potential victims, they come across as trustworthy, well mannered, well educated.
Most West Africans living in Britain are respectable, and these criminals trade off the good
names of their community.'
How anyone could fall for a Nigerian begging letter must be a mystery to most people. Email
missives - known to detectives as '419s', after section 419 of the Nigerian penal code - make
lurid, ungrammatical offers of huge rewards to their recipients in exchange for an up-front
'administration' fee. If you deposit £25,000 in a specified offshore account, say, or hand the cash
over at an 'official meeting', you are promised several million from a Nigerian privatisation, or a
dead dictator's slush fund.
Only the most gullible could be fooled. The emails are sent indiscriminately - Rosalind Wright,
director of the SFO until this year, is among the more unlikely recent recipients of a '419' . But it is
precisely this 'scattergun' approach that makes the frauds work.
'Like spam, the emails cost nothing to send, and they go to thousands or tens of thousands of
people around the world,' says the Fraud Squad detective. 'If only one or two people are mug
enough to fall for it, then the whole scam is worthwhile.'
The world wide web has been a boon to the fraudsters. 'It's really internationalised the problem.
The Americans, for example, are really starting to suffer from it now.'
A recent police operation in east London led to the arrest of a suspect who had ripped off two
victims who lived as far afield as Alaska and Australia. Both had thought they were
communicating with the Central Bank of Nigeria in Lagos, rather than a bedsitter in Leytonstone.
'Many of the ringleaders are out of our reach, though,' says the detective. 'We've positively
identified a few so-called "businessmen", with Mercedes saloons and large mansions in Abuja,
whom we'd be very keen to talk to if they ever set foot on British soil.'
Co-operation from Nigeria is improving. The country regularly tops Transparency
International's league table of sharp business practices, but the government of Olesegun
Obasanjo is less tolerant of corruption than its predecessors. It is engaged in costly and
interminable legal attempts to recover billions plundered from state coffers during the rule of
Sani Abacha, the late military dictator. And it recently set up a 100-man squad of 'untouchable'
police officers tasked with cracking down on fraud.
But police forces across Britain remain concerned at the steady growth of another scam
organised by West African gangs: the clearing house automated system, or 'Chaps' fraud.
'Gangs are systematically stealing company documents from rubbish bins, postrooms and
Royal Mail sorting offices, and trying to get hold of tax and national insurance paperwork,' said
the fraud detective.
The aim is to identify a company's account number, sort code and signatures. Pretending to be
a company representative, the criminal then contacts the company's bank, telling it to transfer
£50,000 to a numbered offshore account. This account, of course, belongs to the criminal
himself, who empties it before the defrauded company realises its money has gone missing.
To assist the fraud, gang members and associates - many not from African backgrounds - are
thought to have secured jobs in Royal Mail depots, banks, tax offices and at the Department for
Work and Pensions. 'Of course, the fraud doesn't work most of the time, because somebody,
usually the bank manager, gets suspicious,' the detective said. 'But the point is to try it hundreds
or even thousands of times.
'It's the same as with the 419 letters: you only need a few people to fall for the scam to make a
fortune.'
Law enforcement agencies express a grudging admiration for the versatility of the West African
gangs.
'You might think that it would be easy to identify these guys who fly in from Nigeria and can
hardly speak English, but in fact the gangs are almost uniquely difficult to crack,' says the
detective.
'It's not just the fact that they're absolute masters at travelling with fake passports and devising
multiple identities, it's also very difficult to predict what kind of fraud an individual is likely to be
working on, and with wh