The Hindu : New Delhi News : Two nabbed in another `black dollar' scam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 01, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Two nabbed in another `black dollar' scam

By Devesh K. Pandey

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 30. Two Nigerian nationals allegedly trying to cheat an executive in a private firm of lakhs of rupees in the name of supplying to him dollars purportedly coloured in black were arrested in Connaught Place here on Wednesday. Exactly a year ago a Liberian national arrested from the same area was found employing a similar modus operandi, which is understood to be an extension of the infamous 4-1-9 scam that emanated from Nigeria a few years ago.

In the latest case, a person recently approached the New Delhi police saying that two persons of African origin were trying to cheat him. He first met them while taking a lift in an auto-rickshaw in which they were travelling. The duo introduced themselves as Mike O. Williams and Taiwo. Mike claimed that he was son of a former South African finance minister and was interested in large investments in the country.

After several telephonic conversations about prospective deal, the duo again met the complainant and asked him to pay for their stay in Oberoi Hotel saying he would soon get back his money with "incentives". Mike told him that a South African diplomat would arrive with a large quantity of dollars painted in black at Mumbai airport. He then asked Rs. 3 lakhs from the complainant claiming that he needed the money to somehow get the bag containing the consignment cleared by the airport authorities. In the meantime, the complainant received an e-mail purportedly sent by Mike's father thanking him for all the help.

On September 22, the duo claimed that the diplomat had arrived and they needed money to get the consignment out. The complainant paid them Rs. 2.7 lakhs in cash and the next day the two suspects gave him a metal box containing "black dollars". They applied a special chemical on the black papers which turned them into real dollars. The suspects said he needed to keep the chemicals in a fridge for 96 to 100 hours before applying them on the papers. They then demanded more money from the complainant, which raised suspicion that they were trying to cheat him.

He then contacted the police, which laid a trap and arrested the duo. During interrogation, they identified themselves as Mike Ebemen and Taiwo Asemota. The police recovered four passports from their possession, all of which appear to be forged. The police also recovered a bottle of the "special chemical", white crystals, black powder and 4,300 dollars from them.

During further interrogation, Taiwo, who had been staying in India for the past four years, revealed that he had been to Ludhiana, Mumbai and Guwahati. He said in Mumbai he also worked in some films, including "Ek Haseena Thi" and "Talash" for gathering African nationals for which he was paid Rs. 1,000 per day.

Interestingly, on September 29 last year, the Special Cell had arrested a Liberian national on the same charges. The accused, Royal Agenci Denis, allured prospective victims by offering them dollars, which were supposedly coloured in black. He would show them a chemical fluid and demonstrate how by applying it on the black paper it turned into a dollar. However, the lot of "dollars" he provided the victim later turned out to be mere papers.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi