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31 DEC 2006
From Vanguard, a Nigerian newspaper:
Nuhu Ribadu: The anti-corruption czar
By Ochereome Nnanna
Vanguard Editors, at a meeting a fortnight ago, chose Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Chairman
of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) as the newspaper’s Man-of-
the-Year 2006. It was not a unanimous vote, but the lead was comfortable enough for the
few stragglers to finally concede that indeed, this lanky Fulani-born police officer and
lawyer who likes to dress up in safari suits, touched lives and influenced events, for
better or worse, in Nigeria more than any other person or issue in the past year.
[the article continues]
419 Coalition Note: We thank Messrs. Ribadu and Lamorde and
the rest of the EFCC staff for their efforts, and say "more grease
to their elbows" in 2007.
*************************************
20 DEC 2006
Here is more Nigerian "take" on the recent ABC News 20/20
piece on 419 (see 8 DEC 2006, 11 DEC 2006, and 12 DEC 2006
News). This is from The Guardian, a Nigerian newspaper:
ABC News' unfair attack on Nigeria
NIGERIA bashing has become a favourite pastime of American media. First it was the
Cable News Network (CNN) with a story of Nigeria as a den of artful identity theft and
bank fraudsters fleecing Americans. Now the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) -
America 's second largest network - has followed up with a rejoinder in which Nigeria is
perceived as a beehive of 419 activities.
In the same week that Mr. Frank Nweke, the Minister of Information, accompanied by two
other ministers and a host of other notables, was laundering the 'Heart of Africa' image
of Nigeria to an American audience, the ABC News carried an unflattering story on
Nigeria. An ABC reporter came to Lagos and after visiting the rundown metropolis of
Oshodi declared that Lagos is a crime-ridden disgrace of a city. While in Nigeria, the
reporter visited several cyber cafes where he found Nigerians sending mass e-mails
designed to lure greedy Americans into their lair. The reporter even participated in a
fake delivery to a 419 operator.
The minister's entourage must have been thoroughly embarrassed by the merciless
attack on Nigerians at home and abroad. But for many Nigerians in America where the
programme was aired, there was outrage at the adverse characterisation of Nigeria as
a crime-prone country in which all manner of vices have taken root and are flourishing.
They point out that in the United States, there are many Nigerian professionals,
academics and businessmen of sterling quality whose contributions to the great
American enterprise are not in doubt.
Nigerians at home are no less offended. The idea that the activities of a few miscreants
in our midst are being used to stigmatise an entire nation cannot be supported.
Moreover, even the U.S. government admits that the Nigerian government is doing its
utmost to wipe out all forms of corruption including cyber cafe crimes. Criminal activity by
its nature is not the preserve of any one nation or people and all are susceptible to it,
including the U.S.
The so-called 419 Nigerian scam has received unprecedented publicity on the internet,
so that gullible and greedy Americans must have themselves to blame for ignoring a
warning writ large on almost all web sites. We cannot deny that the image of this country
has been soiled by a few miscreants in our midst. Neither can we deny that 419 - a
section under the Criminal Code of Nigeria dealing with obtaining under false pretences
- has entered into the lexicography of the world. But the truth is that most Nigerians are
honest, hard-working people who are doing their best in a difficult environment where
governments have frequently distanced themselves from the real problems of the
people.
It is this condition that leads individuals to a culture of self-help which in some cases
results in criminal activity. But criminality as a concept is condemned by the vast
majority of our people. Most Nigerians are religious and law abiding and must feel
offended at the thought that the world now sees us as habitual criminals. Western
reporters breezing in and out of Nigeria are fond of making assertions based on
insufficient knowledge.
They exaggerate the bad aspects of Nigeria while remaining oblivious of the good
qualities that are in greater abundance. Lagos is much more than the notorious bazaar
of Oshodi. Lagos also boasts of villas and facilities that compare with the best
elsewhere. Moreover the vibrancy and the robust sense of humour of the Nigerian have
earned us the epithet of the happiest people on earth. If Nigeria has a problem, it has to
do with governance or the lack of it and accountability. There is a basic disconnect
between the government and the governed.
Our infrastructure is in a state of decay, there are bad roads everywhere, garbage on
the streets, crises in education, lack of employment for school graduates, a few hours of
electricity per day even for industry, and lack of good drinking water for the majority of
our people. Our law enforcement is not quite up to the mark with too many unsolved
murders and continuing violence in the polity. The gap between the rich and the poor is
now at its widest margin since Nigeria attained independence and yet the country has
more than $40 billion in external reserves. How to use our resources to transform the
lives of Nigerians is the challenge facing our governments at federal, state and local
levels.
Nearly eight years of civilian administration has unfortunately not transformed the lives
of our people. As believers in democracy, we continue to hope for better times. In the
meantime, we remain convinced that no amount of seminars in hotel suites or
advertisements on the airwaves can successfully project the image of Nigeria when we
ignore the basics of good governance. This may well be the point which the ABC
reporter so irreverently tried to bring home to us.
Here is a link to the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/editorial_opinion/article01
419 Coalition Note: We think that the 20/20 "419er Bashed" rather
than "Nigeria bashed". The general situation in Nigeria is what
it is, good and bad, and that was not the focus of the piece. 419
Advance Fee Fraud was the focus of the piece. Not this crime,
not that crime, not crime here, not crime there, but Nigerian 419
Advance Fee Fraud. That is what the piece was about.
We thought the piece made it clear that the vast majority of Nigerians
at home and abroad are hard working, law abiding people (and
we of course agree with that). But Nigeria does indisputably have
a problem with Nigerian criminal 419 Advance Fee Fraud criminals
operating from Nigeria and "branch offices" abroad. The problem
is massive and longstanding. In fact, it is fair to say that Nigerian
419 is one of the longest running and most effective direct mass
marketing campaigns in history, albeit a criminal one. As such.
with 419 solicitations arriving en masse in homes and offices of
people all over the world each day for the last 20 years, it would
be absurd to think that people's opinion of Nigeria and Nigerians
would not be shaped by the deluge, rightly or wrongly.
In terms of the Nigerian authorities doing their "utmost" in combating
419, that they are doing Anything at All is a relatively recent (but very
welcome) thing. The EFF has indeed arrested a couple of thousand
people over the last fest years, and there have been some convictions,
though not many to date. The EFCC also says it has recovered nearly
a Billion dollars in 419ed funds, and claims it has returned most of
that to somebody, that they (the EFCC) have not kept it. However,
the fact is, that very little given the amounts said to have been
recovered has been repatriated to victims, which of course brings
up the obvious question.... where are the recovered funds and
When will they be repatriated to the victims? In short, in terms
of both counter-419 operations and in terms of repatriation of
stolen funds to victims of 419, only the tip of the iceberg has
been dealt with so far there is a long, long, way to go. We think
that the EFCC has made a good Beginning but it will take a
long term, sustained effort over many years to get Nigerian 419
AFF reducted to nuisance levels. But at least the EFCC is
indeed Trying, and that in itself is welcome. We look forward
to a continuation and expansion of their efforts over the next
years, and trust that the lack of repatriation of recovered funds
to victims situation will improve over time.
Finally, here is a comment on the Guardian editorial by
Mr. Rotimi Ogunsuyi, a Nigerian expat living and working
in Chicago which appeared in Nigeria oriented discussion
group called Naijanet, at Googe Groups. He also wrote
an earlier essay on the 20/20 piece, see 12 DEC 2006
News below for that.
Here are his comments, verbatim:
Guardian's jingoisitc "editorial" is full of lies and half truths.
My question to the editor of the Guardian, will he take a check from
me? I bet the dude or dudess will not even take a check from most
people at the Guardian. Yet he pretends the problem is with ABC and
CNN.
If the Guardian and other Nigerian newspapers continue to engage in
massive cover-up of the moral corruption in Nigeria, including the
retail kind called 419, why are they angry that foreign press has taken
over what should rightly be their role?
When was the last time Guardian or any of the other major mainstream
Nigerian newspapers expose any crime or scam in Nigeria? Yet they
continue to try to insulate themselves from what is not really a secret
in Nigeria, especially Lagos, where everybody spends every waking hour
trying to out-smart (scam) the other.
Building fortresses is not the answer to Nigeria's problem. We have to
admit we have a problem, not an image problem.
Very untrue, very biased - if you ask me.
Rotimi Ogunsuyi
Chicago, IL
****************************
13 DEC 2006
Our associates Ultrascan in the Netherlands report that
13 Nigerian 419 scammers have been arrested there, most
for Lottery 419 and Inheritance 419. Their victims were
from the US, Jamaica, and Germany with losses ranging
from 8,000 to 250,000 each, it is reported.
*************************
12 DEC 2006
This is a short essay by Mr. Rotimi Ogunsuyi, a Nigerian
expat living and working in Chicago. It appeared in a
Nigeria oriented discussion group called Naijanet, at
Google Groups (which is an excellent group for anyone
interested in Nigeria, we might add). It just put things
so well, we asked for and received permission to post it
in our News section, so here it is:
Awe(?) Ola,
This debate on how to react to Nigerian scam artists is not new and probably will never
be conclusively resolved. There are some who argue that it is the victim's greed that
ultimately does them in because why would anyone actually believe that some stranger
would send money to another unconnected stranger out of the 6 billion inhabitants of this
planet Earth!
My sympathy is with the victim for three reasons:
1. In any foul situation, we must never ignore who initiated the contact, not just that
two legs were broken. In ALL 419 situations, the Nigerian scamsters initiate the contact.
2. We are not all of equal intelligence and a decent society must always protect its most
vulnerable. That is the mark of a civilized society. All those who blame the victim's
greed only must remember that we all have different thresholds of gullibility. This
happens because of different reasons including education, age and God-given
sensibility. (Mine is very high BTW. Maybe that's why I may never be very rich :)
We cannot on one hand go to churches, mosques and other places of worship and on
the other hand cheer on those who prey on the weakest of nature and call that a fair
game or even a game for that matter.
3. If not sanctioned, the 419ners will come back to haunt Nigerians. In fact, they already
are. There are many of us who have either been scammed or been intended victims.
How many of our older parents have either been scammed or almost scammed with
one story or the other about someone delivering money from their children abroad - on
the payment of a "small" sum?
My eighty-year old father escaped by the whiskers of his sixth sense about ten years
ago. He just had the intuition to order the driver to run for it at Ilesha. As he gets older,
how alert would he be?
The reasons more Nigerians are not victimized right now is a paradigm of bank
robbery. There was a notorious bank robber who was asked why he kept holding up
banks. He smiled and point blank retorted: "Because that's where the money is". The
reason we have largely escaped being victimized by these 419 scoundrels is because
Nigeria is still by and large a destitute country. Unless we really don't aspire to more
prosperity, as Nigeria gets wealthier, more would be just as susceptible to being
scammed as the foreign "muguns".
Lastly, the 419ners hurt you and I in ways we would never really know.
If you have been held up several times by natives of a particular community, would it be
unwise for you to start suspecting anybody from that community when they come to your
store? Would you hire anybody from that community to man your cash register? Would
you hire them for any job of big responsibility at all? Would you invest in that particular
community of all available communities of the world, unless you were from there?
Some would advance that foreigners invest in Nigeria anyway. I argue that we are
getting a small fraction of what we would if our image is not so battered by the crooks
that some so lawyerly cuddle. Even Nigerians would be more enthusiastic about
investing in Nigeria.
As it is now, these criminals are dragging the country back. There is no way of sugar-
coating it and no amount of image laundry by Information Minister Nweke can veil that.
In the end, I argue that these Nigerians are making "muguns" of their sympathizers and
they need to wake up and join the fight to reduce, if not eliminate the scourge of 419 on
our collective image.
Have a nice and productive week working hard and honestly everybody.
Rotimi Ogunsuyi
Chicago, IL
****************************************
11 DEC 2006
Here is a Nigerian take on the 20/20 News piece on 419
(see 8 DEC News below) from The Guardian, a Nigerian
newspaper:
Uproar as American TV airs report on Nigerian scams
LAOLU AKANDE NEW YORK
ON the same week that three Nigerian ministers visited the United States to launch the
Federal Government's new image laundering programme named the Heart of Africa,
the second leading US network TV, ABC described Lagos, "a crime-ridden disgrace of
a city."
In a stinging report on fraud among Nigerians at home and in the United States, the ABC
report-20/20-an investigative programe broadcast on Friday even played parts of a
musical video and soundtrack of the movie "The Master" which depicts how fraudsters
operate.
The report played clips from the film and from the musical video, even drawing from the
words used in the musical that "419" victims are the "muguns", and the "419" operatives
are the masters. The report blamed the film and the music video for celebrating 419 and
treating their kingpins "folk heroes." The report says the film mocks the "muguns."
The programme which was broadcast on Friday evening, got US-based Nigerians
worried and troubled. A Nigerian Lawyer in the US said by the next day, he had
received several calls from his clients and partners asking questions about the report
on Nigeria. Others feared that on resumption of work today, their colleagues would
bombard them with all kinds of questions and even negative attitude as a result of the
ABC report.
Presented by Brian Ross, the report which took about 30 minutes including commercial
breaks dwelt on how Nigerian 419 agents in the US lay prey for their American victims,
showing scenes in Washington, DC, Dallas and California where the ABC investigative
teams confronted some of them on camera having disguised as willing victims of fraud.
At first, the "419" operatives were not aware they were being filmed by undercover
cameras. Once they knew they were on films, they turned apologetic and repentant.
The ABC report did not show whether the investigative team turned the 419 operatives to
the police. But the most telling part of the report was the ABC team's visit to Lagos, which
the report say has a population of 20 million. Showing parts of Oshodi, the report
described Lagos as a "crime-ridden disgrace of a city."
Before visiting Nigeria, the ABC news team had played along with the "419" operatives
and promised to send advance cash of $12,000 to Lagos after receiving a letter from the
e-mail that promised them $25m once they send the advance fee. The ABC team
parked monopoly paper money in a DHL box and sent it to Lagos. They arrived with
their teams and proceeded to a DHL office were someone had come to claim the mail.
There, the ABC team confronted the "419" accomplice who had by then picked up the
box mailed by the Americans reporters from the US.
The ABC report also showed how 419 operatives used Internet cafes in Lagos to send
mass e-mails to Americans preying on what the report accurately described as the
"greed" of the Americans themselves. Although the report says there are scams all over
the world from Europe to Nigeria, this report focusses primarily on what it called
"Nigerian scams."
Only last, week Nigeria's Information Minister Frank Nweke, while speaking with the
Nigerian press here in the US, said Nigeria continued to be unfairly profiled. Although he
and Nigerians abroad acknowledged the existence of this "419" operatives at home
and here in the US, they still argued that such Nigerians were being isolated in a world
where criminal minds are not the exclusive afflictions of one country. They point to other
criminal gangs, families and operations all over the world especially in the US and
Europe.
Nweke said the crime committed by ENRON alone in the US, by whatever name it is
called, has a far greater impact on Americans and the entire financial system of the
world than Nigerian fraudsters, but the western press has not focussed on it the way they
focus on the few Nigerians involved in fraud.
The ABC report which also featured EFCC officials including some of their raids on
Internet cafe where the "419" letters are being sent, however showed that the Nigerian
government is now confronting the menace.
419 Coalition Comment: Somebody needs to remind Minister Nweke that
419 Scams are by definition West African, primarly Nigerian, related Advance
Fee Fraud scams, and that, although there are indeed many criminal gangs
of other nationalities all over the world, this news report was on 419 crimes
not those other crimes. And, in truth, the 419 crimes are much more "in the
face" of people all over the world every day as masses of 419 materials
arrive in their homes and offices each day than many other types of crime.
That's one of the most annoying things about 419... the ubiquitouness of
419 criminal operations. And yes, Nigeria has finally done some things
to deal with 419, but the matter is so Huge that only the tip of the iceberg
has been addressed to date, and the effect on Nigerian 419 operations
of Nigerian government efforts remains largely at nuisance levels. Much
more needs to be done, and the effort needs to be sustained for many
years, if the Nigerian government is to get 419 operations minimized.
*********************************
8 DEC 2006
ABC News 20/20 and journalist Brian Ross did an excellent 30
minute piece on 419. It was one of the better educational
pieces we have seen of late, and included descriptions of 419
operations, the stories of several high profile victims of 419,
and sting operations on camera showing Nigerian 419 scammers
caught red-handed in both the US and Nigeria.
There were also excellent descriptions and videos of Black
Currency 419 operations.
It also featured an interview with Ibrahim Lamorde, the Director of
Operations of the Nigerian Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) in which he desribed both EFCC counter-419er efforts and
explained the sheer magnitude of the problem.
An arrest by EFCC operatives of a 419 scammer caught signing
for a delivery of 419 materials was shown, as was an EFCC
raid on a Lagos cyber-cafe frequented by 419ers in which a
vanload of 419ers were taken into custody.
The Lagos mansion of a former 419 kingpin which had been
seized by the EFCC was shown, as was footage of the former
Head of the Nigerian police, Tafa Balogun, who has been
convicted of various large scale financial frauds, including,
the program said, of accepting bribes from 419 kingpins (we
had not heard that specific allegation against Balogun before,
though always assumed it was the case).
The piece with the help of the US Postal Inspection Service
did a good job of showing how 419 operations use snailmail and
fax as well as email to troll for targets. Although the trend
has segued into email in recent years, 419 began with snailmail
in the early 80's, then moved to combo snailmail and fax in the
early to mid-90's, and then to both of those Plus email in the
late 1990's.
The only criticisms we have of the piece are that it made
Nigerian 419 operations seem like a 419ers vs Americans
sort of thing, when in fact 419ers steal from victims in
nearly every nation of of the world. 419 is a truly global
phenomenon which transcends all national, cultural, and ethnic
lines - and 419ers have been doing it successfully, large scale,
for over 20 years. 419ers are equal opportunity thieves.
Also, the piece made it sound like the authorities in the US and
in Nigeria are having a major impact on 419 operations,
which is simply not the case. Of course, anything is better
than nothing, but 419 operations are so Huge that the efforts
of authorities to date have been little more than a minor
impediment to 419 operations, and this is especially true
within Nigeria. Though the EFCC is trying, the problem
is so large that it will take years and years of effort to
bring 419 emanating from Nigeria down to nuisance levels.
Here are some URLs to some of the video on the piece,
which was titled "Scamming the Scammers" by the way,
for as long as they are good:
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2705157
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2711477
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=2710727
You can purchase transcripts of the 12/08/2006 20/20
show, including the segment "Scamming the Scammers"
at this URL, for as long as it is good:
http://www.transcripts.tv/2020.cfm
********************************
4 DEC 2006
Our colleagues at .NExt Web Security say that ABC News 20/20
program will do a piece on Nigerian 419 AFF Friday 8 December.
Supposed to be a good piece with 419 scam complete with 419ers
on camera, fake Nigerian government employees, a sting and bust
of 419ers in Nigeria etc. So tune in Friday evening.
Also, we would like to note that it is the last few days of the
first ever art show and expo dedicated to 419 AFF operations, which
is being held in Vic, Barcelona, Spain through 10 DEC. The show has
gotten good reviews, though the "Spanish Prisoner" subtitle of the show
is a bit of artistic license, and is definitely worth a look if you are
in the area. Here once again is a press release on the show, which
we gave in our 2 NOV 2006 News:
There will an art exhibit on 419 Sala H, Vic, Spain under the
auspices of the Barcelona Cultural Studio. Here is the press
release for the event:
###
419, or 'THE SPANISH PRISONER' , at the Sala H
The cycle "Where Far Ends Meet" finalizes with a project on the Nigerian e-mail scam
known as the 419, developed by myself [Jeffrey Swartz, Canadian exhibitions curator
and art critic, residing in Spain] and Catalan artist Pep Dardanyà, opening on Friday
November 10.
Part of the space will be dedicated to a documentary portrait of the 419 advanced fee
fraud, including an analysis of the internet culture that facilitates its success, its legal
ramifications, the world of anti-scam activism and scam-baiting, as well as a view into
present day Nigeria and the cultural dynamics of Lagos where the scam originated.
Pep Dardanyà contributes the video installation "Co-relation 1.1", which astutely points
up the contradictions and ambivalences of culture contact between post-colonial
Nigeria and the First World.
Full overview of the documentation to be exhibited and internet links related to the show
will be posted here soon. A more complete press release is available here .
Project produced in collaboration with Centre d'Art Santa Mònica, Barcelona, where it
will be shown in Sala Consulta in October, 2007.
###
Here is another press release on the show:
###
Press release: 419, or ´THE SPANISH PRISONER´
419, or ‘THE SPANISH PRISONER’
a project by Pep Dardanyà and Jeffrey Swartz
Sala H, Vic
Opening: November 10, 2006, at 8 PM
Open until December 10, 2006
419 is the name of one of the best known types of e-mail scams, activated by means of
the massive sending of spam. Originating out of the Festac neighbourhood in Lagos,
Nigeria, the typical 419 tells a story out of present-day Africa featuring dictators, military
coups, fatal accidents, murders and offers a large sum of money to the person willing to
assist in freeing up a fortune blocked in a bank account in Nigeria or another African
country. This scam has been so successful over recent years that it is considered to be
one of the main sources of income in Nigeria, rivalling the oil industry, with estimates of
billions of dollars moved each year.
The number ‘419’ refers to the article of the Nigerian criminal code dealing with postal
fraud. In the English-speaking world this type of fraud was already known in the
seventeenth century as"the Spanish prisoner", a term which inspired the film of the
same name by David Mamet, from 1997. It is now commonly referred to as ‘advance
fee’ fraud. [419 Coalition Note: In reality, the notion that the roots of 419 are somehow
in the Spanish Prisoner scam is a bit of a canard, as the roots of 419 are actually in
centuries old traditional West African scams like the "red mercury" scam, whereby
one must wash something valuable in "red mercury" for it to be usable, and one
must of course first buy the red mercury solution to do it with etc. But, after all,
this is an Art show and a little "artistic license" is therefore quite understandable
that being the case :) Also, the term 419 comes from an obsolete section of the
Nigerian criminal code (and before that the criminal code of Lagos State in
Nigeria), concerning the obtaining of monies by false pretence, and was not
limited to only postal fraud. But once again, this is a small detail, and
this is of course an Art show not a dissertation or somesuch. ]
419, or ‘THE SPANISH PRISONER’ is conceived as an exhibition on the multiple facets
of this type of digital scam. One part is a documentary display analyzing the culture of
Internet interaction, the business of e-mail scams and resultant criminal investigations
and anti-fraud activism, the context of modern Nigeria - vibrant, source of Afrobeat
music, frequently corrupt, though the place where Nollywood has emerged, the third
largest movie industry in the world in numbers of films produced, which often deal with
419 - and attempts to draw closer to the world of the 419 from different perspectives,
including websites on 419 culture and humorous scam baiting.
The exhibition also features a work in the format of a TV ad created specifically on the
theme by Barcelona visual artist Pep Dardanyà. Dardanyà has developed an
audiovisual installation, Co-relation 1.1, that deals with the complex relationships of
power and money between post-colonial Africa and the globalizing First World.
Produced in collaboration with the Centre d’Art Santa Mònica, Barcelona
For more information:
Sala H
Associació per a les Arts Contemporànies
www.h-aac.net
93 889 1056
Jeffrey Swartz
(+34) 655 116 250
studio@barcelonaculture.com
###
Here is the URL of the first above English language article for as long as it is good:
http://www.barcelonaculture.com/principal.asp?0=1&1=276990
Here is the URL of a Spanish language article on the show for as long as it is good:
http://www.elpais.com/articulo/portada/fraude/nigeriano/elpeputeccib/20061123elpcibpor_3/Tes/
Here is another URL of a Spanish language article of the show for as long as it is good:
http://www.vilaweb.cat/www/noticia?p_idcmp=2173298
***************************************************
6 NOV 2006
From The Sun, a Nigerian newspaper:
Obasanjo’s aide in money laundering mess
- Plus the Otta farm connection
A United States District Court of Portland, Oregon, has seized money believed to have
been laundered from Mr Andy Uba, President Olusegun Obasanjo’s Senior Special
Assistant on Domestic Affairs.
Accrding to investigation by the U.S secret service, the sum of $170,000 (about N25
million at the time) was smuggled into New York on September 22, 2003, by Andy Uba
aboard the Nigerian presidential plane, without a report to U.S customs and border
protection as legally required.
The investigation report says Uba (full name, Emmanuel Nnamdi (Andy) Uba) handed
the money to one Loretta Mabinton, who claimed in court documents that the
presidential aide is her fiancé, and that he gave her the money to take care of his affairs
in the U.S.
Another curious side to the money laundering scandal is the disclosure in the U.S secret
service report that a portion of the money, $45,487.28 (about N6.5 million) was used to
pay Mabinton’s MBNA credit card account, which was deployed to purchase assorted
farm equipment that were shipped to Obasanjo farms in Otta, Ogun State.
The report equally says $91,262.50 (about N12.9 million) was used to purchase a
Mercedes Benz car SL500 for Uba, which was to be shipped to Nigeria.
The car, and the remainder of the laundered funds, have now been ordered seized by
the U.S District court of Oregon, being proceeds of bulk cash smuggling, violations of
currency and monetary instrument reporting requirements, currency transaction
reporting requirements, and money laundering.
Loretta Mabinton had confessed to U.S law enforcement agents that she flew into New
York on September 22, 2003, and received $170,000 from Uba while he was at the
United Nations Plaza Hotel. The latter had accompanied President Obasanjo to New
York to attend a meeting of the United Nations.
U.S law enforcement agents also indicate that the Service Atlanta field office
had listed Andy Uba as a previous subject of an Advance Fee Fraud (419)
investigation, and that the $170,000 was not wired into Mabinton’s accounts
because it would have brought attention to numerous other past suspicious
transactions. [highlight by 419 Coalition]
The implications of all these, according to diplomatic sources, is that President
Obasanjo’s plane may be impounded over illegal importation of bulk cash into the U.S
the next time it lands on any American territory, while Uba himself remains under
surveillance whenever he steps into the U.S.
The forfeiture order of the remainder of the cash ($26,000) as well as the Mercedes Benz
SL 500 car was signed by United States District Judge, Malcolm F. Marsh, on
September 27, this year.
In an affidavit deposed to by special agent, Guy Gino, who investigated the case from
2003 when the money was reportedly ferried into the U.S aboard the presidential plane,
"$45,487.28 was utilized to pay Mabinton’s MBNA credit card account. The credit card
was utilized by Mabinton to purchase farm equipment (that was shipped to Obasanjo
Farms Nigeria Ltd. The farm is owned by Nigerian President Obasanjo)."
The affidavit also stated that throughout 2003, "Mabinton’s statements show numerous
high-dollar transactions including funds wired into and out of her account from multiple
and suspicious sources. The financial analysis of these bank accounts showed that
throughout 2003, Mabinton was living well above her means."
Below is full text of affidavit of special agent Guy Gino, which eventually led to forfeiture
of the car and money reportedly belonging to Andy Uda to American authorities:
[the article continues and the entire Affadvit in this case]
Here is the URL of the entire piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2006/nov/06/national-06-11-2006-01.htm
*************************************************
4 NOV 2006
From the Portland Press Herald, Portland Maine:
Victim who fell for scam pulls his own
By GREGORY D. KESICH, Staff Writer
A Westbrook man who lost $60,000 of his own money in a fraudulent Internet scheme run
out of Africa now faces a federal prison sentence for using $78,600 of other people's
money after his funds ran out.
Todd Denson, 46, told investigators that he received an e-mail that convinced him he
could get an inheritance worth more than $9 million from a murdered man in Ghana by
sending $1,000 overseas.
Denson sent the money, followed by another $59,000. Eventually he ran out of his own
money and told a variety of stories to get money from other "investors." He convinced
one victim to invest in patented window-washing inventions and another to invest in an
international construction company.
On Thursday, Denson pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud in U.S. District Court in
Portland and faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and will owe restitution to his
seven victims.
His case offers a cautionary tale for people who think they can get rich quickly, said
Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark.
"The old saying is true: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is," Clark
said.
Denson, who owned a window-washing business, and his victims are among an
unknown number of Americans who have fallen for Internet scams that are estimated by
the U.S. Secret Service to cost the public millions every year.
The scams have become so popular that state attorneys general have enlisted the help
of Western Union offices to warn people before they send money overseas. Maine
banks are looking into ways that employees can, without violating customer
confidentiality, intercede on behalf of customers who look as though they are about to
lose their money.
"Maine financial institutions are wrestling with this problem," said Will Lund, director of
the state Office of Consumer Credit Regulation. The schemes are sometimes known as
"Nigerian frauds" because many of them originated in that country. They operated
through mailed letters and fax machines for decades before they moved to the Internet
in the 1990s.
They usually start with a letter from someone claiming to be a former government
official, a general or a dead dictator's widow who needs a small amount of money to
access a huge fortune. But once a victim starts sending money, snags occur and
require another payment.
According to court records, Denson, who had the window-washing business and was
going through a divorce, received an e-mail saying he was entitled to $9 million if he
paid a $1,000 transfer fee.
After he spent $60,000, he was told he had to send an additional $36,000 to collect the
money. Since he had no more money, Denson said, he had to find other "investors."
Denson is out on bail while awaiting sentencing and could not be reached Friday for
comment. His lawyer, Joel Vincent, did not return a phone message left at his office
Friday.
In the summer of 2005, according to court records, Denson placed a classified ad in the
Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram under the headline "Investors
Wanted." A local man, who is not named in court records, responded to the ad. Denson
convinced the man that he had earned millions from his window-washing inventions, but
needed the cash to access his money without paying taxes.
He said he needed $40,000 for 48 hours and promised a $20,000 return on the loan. The
money was never repaid.
Denson told another investor that his father had died and left him $9 million in an
overseas account, and that he needed $11,200 to pay the inheritance tax so he could
collect it.
Denson sold his Mercedes-Benz to a friend for $4,000, and then never delivered the car
or title.
Studying Western Union records, investigators determined that Denson did not keep
the money. He wired it overseas instead.
Maine Assistant Attorney General Jim McKenna said he regularly receives solicitation
e-mails forwarded to his office, but has only heard from one person who says he was
fooled in a scam.
It is difficult to say how many people fall for them, McKenna said, because most of the
scams enlist the victim into an illegal activity, such as tax evasion. When people get
stung, they usually don't report it to law enforcement, he said.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/local/061104plea.html
**********************************
2 NOV 2006
There will an art exhibit on 419 Sala H, Vic, Spain under the
auspices of the Barcelona Cultural Studio. Here is the press
release for the event:
419, or 'THE SPANISH PRISONER' , at the Sala H
The cycle "Where Far Ends Meet" finalizes with a project on the Nigerian e-mail scam
known as the 419, developed by myself [Jeffrey Swartz, Canadian exhibitions curator
and art critic, residing in Spain] and Catalan artist Pep Dardanyà, opening on Friday
November 10.
Part of the space will be dedicated to a documentary portrait of the 419 advanced fee
fraud, including an analysis of the internet culture that facilitates its success, its legal
ramifications, the world of anti-scam activism and scam-baiting, as well as a view into
present day Nigeria and the cultural dynamics of Lagos where the scam originated.
Pep Dardanyà contributes the video installation "Co-relation 1.1", which astutely points
up the contradictions and ambivalences of culture contact between post-colonial
Nigeria and the First World.
Full overview of the documentation to be exhibited and internet links related to the show
will be posted here soon. A more complete press release is available here .
Project produced in collaboration with Centre d'Art Santa Mònica, Barcelona, where it
will be shown in Sala Consulta in October, 2007.
Here is a link to the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.barcelonaculture.com/principal.asp?0=1&1=276990
****************************************
24 OCT 2006
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
Fraudsters Hijack N/Assembly Website
From Chuks Akunna in Abuja
The National Assembly has raised alarm on the activities of fraudsters who allegedly
use the Assembly’s official websites to defraud unsuspecting persons, including
foreigners.
In a warning message posted on the Assembly’s websites, the legislative arm said it
found the activities of "dishonest and disreputable Nigerians" who pose as either
Senators or members of the House of Representatives to defraud very embarrassing.
The Nigerians involved in the activities, the statement said, "are mainly perpetrators
of the reprehensible e-mail scamming practices that have become a national
embarrassment."
According to the National Assembly, the scammers usually pose as chairmen of
committees in either arm of the Assembly and offer juicy business deals and contracts,
including offering to transact business on behalf of the Nigerian government.
The statement advised persons who get such messages to contact the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on info@efccnigeria.org, the U.S. Secret
Service Financial Crimes Division on 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov, or its webmaster on
webmaster@nigeriacongress.org.
The statement with the caption "Warning", reads: "It has come to our notice that
dishonest Nigerians are using the Nigeria Congress Web site for despicable activities.
These Nigerian are mainly perpetrators of the reprehensible e-mail scamming
practices that have become a national embarrassment."
The officials warned "disreputable Nigerians who would want to use the Nigeria Cong-
ress Web site http://www.nigeriacongress.org; http://www.nigerian assembly.com and
http://www.nigerian-assembly.org as reference of validity for their mail scamming and
criminalpursuits.
The officials cautioned that fraudsters "will either claim to be a Senator or a
representative in the Nigerian National Assembly, heading a committee involved with
some foreign contract, foreign payment or foreign currency disbursement on the behalf
of the Nigerian Government."
The usual offer the statement disclosed, "is to use a foreign account to transfer monies."
If you receive any such mail messages, the warning said "please contact
webmaster@nigeriacongress.org You can also report to the Nigerian Economic and
Financial Crimes Commi-ssion info@efccnigeria.org or the U.S. Secret Service
Financial Crimes Division 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov "
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=61399
*********************************************
19 OCT 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper Daily Sun:
Yahoo boys in police net
Three young men have been held by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) after they swindled a foreigner of 3,600 dollars.
The suspects, who are now undergoing interrogation at the EFCC office, in Ikoyi, Lagos,
are identified as Kareem Lateef, Temitope Sola Disu and Hassan Abiodun David.
The suspects were said to have met their waterloo on August 21 when Lateef walked
into a bank at the Ikoyi area of Lagos and tried to cash the 3,600 dollars through
Western Union with an international passport bearing Lateef’s name and identity card.
But the eagle eye bank official, sensed foul play when Lateef walked into the banking
hall with Disu and David. One of the bank officials was said to have asked Lateef his
date of birth and the boy simply crashed like a pack of cards and sent his gang into
police net when he gave a date different from the one on the International Passport. The
suspects revealed that they usually get their victims through the Internet by telling
horrifying, sorrowful stories to the victims to elicit sympathy.
Disu admitted that he had been extracting money from people for long. According to
him, he said: "I have been chatting with the woman (victim) for long. I told her that I
was an abandoned child from separated parents. My mother left me with my father
and traveled to London. I had an ambition to further my education, but my father
refused to sponsor me."
He said this has not been the first time of defrauding her. According to Disu, he had
collected 100, 300 and 150 dollars respectively from the same person. But he was
apprehended this time when he went with his partners to withdraw the sum of 3,600
dollars. Also, he had collecting money from the bank with different fake names and had
always claimed that they were sent to him by his father. When EFCC got to his house,
American cheque of 40,000 dollars suspected to be fake, was also found.
David, who is a third year student of Mass Communication Department, Lagos State
University, on his own part claimed that he went to the bank to deposit some money
given to him by his father for his project and a laptop when he met the duo of Lateef and
Disu who he said live in the same neighbourhood with him. They told him that they came
to collect money sent to Disu by his brother in USA.
EFCC has discovered David owns a Honda car, which he claimed he bought three
years ago but could not give a satisfactory account of how he got the money used in
buying the car.
Lateef, on his part, said that Disu has approached him for international passport, so as
to receive money which was sent to him through the Western Union Money Transfer with
it, but did not tell him how much he was to cash. He however, promised to give him the
sum of 200,000 dollars if he accepted to give him the international passport and go to
the bank with him.
Daily Sun also learnt that Disu is a kingpin of internet fraud. It was discovered that he
had spent nine months in Kirikiri Prison yard for Internet scam
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/crimewatch/2006/oct/19/crimewatch-19-10-200 6-002.htm
******************************
12 OCT 2006
From the Nigerian Tribune, a Nigerian newspaper:
3 Internet fraudsters held for duping Swiss national
By ROTIMI OMOLE
Three Internet fraudsters who connived with an employee of a courier company to
dupe a Swiss national have been held by the police in Oyo State.
The suspects, Jeremiah Elijah, Bukola Adefisayo and Bawa Monsur, were alleged to
have defrauded one Mrs. Goedner, through Adefisayo who worked with the company.
Bawa Monsur was alleged to be the receiver of the laptop computers and one DVD
player, acquired through Internet fraud.
A police source who pleaded anonymity told the Nigerian Tribune that Elijah, while on
the Internet, posed as one Carl Edward in Canada and ordered Goedner to release the
items to one Jeremiah Elijah in Ibadan after fake money transfer through Royal Bank,
Switzerland, was allegedly done.
Items recovered from the suspects were three laptop computers...
[the article continues on to cover a non-419 related matter]
*****************************************
12 OCT 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper Daily Sun:
Foreigner recounts bitter encounter with 419 kingpin
By OLUWATOYOSI OGUNSEYE
A man, who was duped of several millions of dollars, has slammed the Economic for
Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) over the handling of the matter.
Shaarlene Lightbourne, a citizen of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, claimed to
have received less than six per cent of the total sum of money that was alleged to have
been fraudulently collected from him by one Igwe Madu, who presented himself as
Mustapha.
According to him, out of the $1.5 million he gave to the suspect, he had received $88,000
from the EFCC after two years of investigation.
He said: "While I am happy to have received some money from EFCC, the amount
received is less than six per cent of N1.5 million paid to Mustapha. I would have
expected to receive a better return after some two years of investigations by the EFCC. I
am greatly encouraged by the excellent news that the EFCC has recovered some
$800,000 and if it is so, I am very concerned that only small amount of money has been
sent to date."
"I am hoping that there would be some major recovery within the next few days which
would be an indication that the EFCC is serious about recovering and returning the
money that was fraudulently taken," he said.
Lightbourne further explained how he got himself into a deep mess, adding that the
whole incident started when he visited South Africa.
His words: "I visited Johannesburg, South Africa, sometime in February 2002, on a
business trip. During my stay, I met a man who introduced himself as Mustapha, a
Nigerian, who had come to visit the Nigerian ambassador to South Africa and some of
his muslim brothers from Iraq."
"He claimed that Ambassador Shehu Malami was his cousin. Coincidentally, my
mission in South Africa was to examine the possibility of investing in Nigeria in
collaboration with a South Africa-based company because I had been informed by my
associates in the USA that it was easier and fraud-free to invest in Nigeria if you operate
from an office in South Africa. Therefore, I saw my meeting with Mustapha as timely and
we discussed likely areas of business that I would be interested in. He told me of his
past relationship with the late Nigerian Head of State,General Sani Abacha and his
nephew, who was Chief Security Officer and of the troubles he was having with the
present government".
"He talked of Ambassador Shehu Malami’s intervention and other matters. He
concluded that his nephew’s problem was with the government particularly Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo the incumbent president. He also claimed to be the Emir of
Gwandu, a first class traditional ruler in Nigeria. He produced a photograph in support of
his claim."
"He boasted of his wide influence in some African countries including Nigeria, Ghana,
Mali, Togo, etc and the widespread influence of his holding company, Goddyson West
African Ltd. We parted ways but agreed to keep in touch. Mustapha called me from
Nigeria and informed me that he had already made a successful arrangement with
some top government officials to award a big contract to my company from Nigeria
National Petroleum Company (NNPC)."
"In the summer of 2002, Mustapha suggested a meeting between me, himself and some
Nigerian government officials. I agreed to meet with them in Nigeria and requested an
official invitation to enable me to obtain a visitor’s visa to travel to Nigeria. He disagreed
citing bureaucratic bottleneck but suggested Ghana instead. I agreed since at this point
I had already committed substantial amounts of money into this venture. During my
meeting with him and his group in Ghana, we had a supposedly fruitful discussions on
how best to actualize the contract which, he said, was valued at $30 million."
"Mustapha informed me that he was successful in negotiating a contract on behalf of my
company with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). “He sent me some
documents purported to have originated from the said corporation. In my honest effort to
get mobilized for the supposed contract, money was remitted by me to him through
various accounts as requested and nominated by him. I have copies of evidence of
remission."
"Funds were transferred to Mustapha’s bank accounts in Ghana, Nigeria, London,
Taiwan and Wales. It became evident that Mustapha had associates in all these
countries, including Ireland. Subsequently, he began to make more and more demands
for money to enable him to facilitate the award of the contract. When his demand for
money in respect of the supposed contract became endless, I was disenchanted and
developed cold feet around September 2003."
"Surprisingly, sometimes during the late 2003 and early 2004, I was contacted by
someone who claimed to be Chief Joseph Sanusi, the Governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria, who informed me that he had been given a mandate from Mustapha to contact
me. The supposed Central Bank of Nigeria Governor said he was in sole position to
transfer part of the contract sum to my nominated account but the vicious circle of
demand for money continued unabated until the supposed governor sent me some
documents showing that my company did a job for Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation Company."
"I was surprised and showed it to a friend who confirmed to me that I was a victim of the
famous Nigerian 419 scammers. This was after I had again transferred substantial funds
to meet various charges, fees and commissions as demanded by Mustapha who had
now resurfaced as Chief Joseph Sanusi, the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria."
When Daily Sun contacted EFCC, a source said: "We have arrested Madu again and
we are making more progress towards recovering the money."
419 Coalition Comment: Yes, there are major problems in getting
monies recovered from 419ers repatriated to the victims. Except
for one case in which something like a million and a half dollars
was returned to a Chinese woman in Hong Kong, large scale
repatriations of recovered funds are rare. For example, Shahla
Ghasemi is still waiting for hre recovered monies to be returned
Years after the recovery was announced by Central Bank of
Nigeria at a major function attended by President Obasanjo
in New York. In short, in the area of repatriation or recovered
funds, the Government of Nigeria's counter-419 efforts remains
inadequate at this time. From the point of view of many victims,
it doesn't seem to make much difference Who has their money,
the 419ers or the Government of Nigeria, all they know is that
They don't have it.... A pretty practical point, we think. Let
us hope that Nigerian Government performance in these matters
gets better quickly and stays better long term.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it stays good:
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/crimewatch/2006/oct/12/crimewatch-12-10-200 6-003.htm
******************************************
11 OCT 2006
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
EFCC returns N128bn to fraud victims
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EF-CC), said yesterday, that it had
returned about N128 billion to victims of advanced fee fraud, also known as 419.
EFCC Chairman, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, made the disclosure in Abuja, at a National
Brand and Economic Development Conference: tagged "Mind the Gap," adding that
the money was returned to victims in various countries.
He promised that more money would be returned, as the commission catches up with fraudsters.
Ribadu said the Commission still had 90 cases against fraudsters and corrupt public
officials pending in courts, adding that some lawyers, judges and policemen serve as
accomplices to fraudsters, collecting money from them to stall cases.
[the article continues with matters not related to 419 AFF]
419 Coalition Comment: We'd like to see a list of those to whom monies
have been returned, as in most of cases of which we are aware, like the
Ghasemi, Khan, and Blick cases we are not aware of any monies being
repatriated. Additionally, we have seen in the news only one large
repatriation of recovered funds to an individual, to a Chinese lady from
Hong Kong. So to whom did EFCC repatriate all these other monies
cited in the above article? Enquiring minds want to know :) And even
if all the funds cited above were in fact repatriated, it still amounts to
only a fraction of the monies recovered, and only a minisucle portion
of the amounts stolen, so there still remains a huge amount of work
to be done on recovery and repatriation efforts.
***************************************
8 OCT 2006
Here is an amusing (sortof) and cautionary piece
from the Daily Sun, a Nigerian newspaper:
Taking 419 one step higher
by Mike Jimoh
Chima was rather surprised one day last month when friends and relations began
trooping in to his house to see in person their brother and friend who had been in
detention. One by one they all came wearing long faces, not saying much but
sympathising with the just-released detainee from a notorious detention facility in the
Centre of Excellence.
It could have been worse, some said. You may have been killed or sodomised even,
others voiced out aloud. But weren’t you lucky, others insisted, not a scratch on you!
Thinking that a great joke was being played on him, Chima asked where in the world did
they get to know he was ever detained?
And they proceeded to narrate, one by one, how they got a text message from Chima
some days before. After all, didn’t Chima’s number appear on their screens asking them
to quickly come to the sender’s aid? The sms stated it so clearly: Chima, it read, was
being held for an unspecified offence in one of the most feared detention centres in
town. So, could the receiver be kind enough to send as little as N1500 voucher to
process his bail?
Of course, who can forsake his brother/ friend at a time like this? Who does not know
what detention centres are like in Lagos? And, by the way, isn’t this a particularly
notorious one?
The short but precise sms was enough to galvanize all of them to action. After all, what is
some naira worth of vouchers to a brother/ friend in distress?
All of the recepients quickly arranged something sharp, sharp, as they say, and
immediately despatched it to their man in trouble. Those who could sent half of what was
requested. Some sent the exact sum while a few others doubled their effort, supposedly
to Chima so he can use them to secure his release. In the end, approximately a hundred
people had responded to Chima’s SOS.
Which explains why Chima woke up on that day to literally find his sitting room
overflowing with sympathisers. Of course, by now, you would’ve guessed that Chima
was never in jail. He wasn’t. In truth, he was detained in a much more sober way. Tired
and work-weary, Chima decided that very day in question to prop up his feet on his
desk, fold his hands across his belly and just nod off. His handset was nearby on the
table.
The clearing and forwarding agent was thus reclined when some smart alecs, seeing a
way to make some change, quickly took their chance. Presto, they proceeded to send
the sms to nearly all the numbers in Chima’s phone, knowing full well that many or all of
them will respond positively long before Chima gets up. They were dead on the beam!
By the time Chima woke up later, his handset was where he left it but unknown to him it
had helpfully served to defraud some of his friends/ relations - at his expense of course.
Here is a link to the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/sauceofsun/2006/oct/08/sauce-oct-08-2006-001 .htm
*****************************************
8 OCT 2006
From the Sunday Times (online) UK:
Ireland hosts online scams
Liam Clarke
AT least six west African gangs, involving up to 117 people, are operating internet
swindles from Ireland, according to an expert on advance-fee fraud.
Frank Engelsman, an investigator in Amsterdam, says his figures are based on
information gleaned from scammers’ e-mails. He has offered to give the details to
gardai.
Advance-fee fraud, referred to as 419 fraud because of the section of the Nigerian penal
code which forbids it, is traditionally operated by Nigerians from the Ibo or Igbo tribal
group in the south of the country. Other groups have become involved in the swindle in
recent years.
Scammers ask for fees in return for the release of an object of value, such as a lottery
jackpot or an inheritance. It can also involve fake jobs, with a victim being asked to bank
cheques and forward the proceeds in return for commission. The cheques later bounce
or turn out to be fraudulently obtained, leaving the victim liable.
One Japanese woman known to Engelsman claims to have paid £50,000 (€74,000) to an
Allied Irish Bank account in Blanchardstown. The AIB has refused to comment.
The largest number of scam rings, 24, operate in the Netherlands, according to
Engelsman. There are 20 in the UK and 18 in Spain.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2393803,00.html
There is also a longer companion piece on this story in the
Sunday Times (online) Ireland. Here is the URL of that piece:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2091-2393725_1,00.html
******************************************************************
13 SEP 2006
From the Nigerian Tribune, a Nigerian newspaper:
EFCC takes war against crimes to cyber cafes
by SEUN AYANTOKUN, Lagos
IN its bid to curtail cyber crimes in Nigeria, the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) has ordered all Internet Service Providers
(ISPs) and operators of internet cafes, popularly called cyber cafes, in
the country to register their businesses with it.
Cafe customers are also mandated to register their various cafes with
all details about them. The registration is, however, free.
The commission had earlier put a stop to the operation of the cafes in
the night believing that cyber criminals spent the period to perpetrate
crimes.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the operators of internet cafes were
initially not well disposed to the idea of not operating in the night,
saying it would reduce their revenue.
Some of them, as a result, began to increase their tariffs by 100 per
cent, claiming that the EFCC encouraged them to take the step. In most
parts of Lagos, the Nigerian Tribune gathered that the cost of internet
browsing per hour is now N200 as against the N100 that was previously
charged, while 30 minutes now attracts N100 or N120 as against the
previous N50 or N60.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.tribune.com.ng/13092006/news/news7.html
************************************
18 AUG 2006
Here is the URL of a BBC News video of a counter-419 raid
by the Nigerian EFCC on a Cyber Cafe, for as long as the link
is good. About a 5 minute video:
http://www.feedthegoose.com/page.php?7
Here is another URL of the same material, furnished by a
concerned Nigerian:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fLn86Q4wSM
*****************************************
12 AUG 2006
From the Daily Graphic, a Ghanian newspaper:
Five Nabbed Over Fake Dollars
Story by Albert K. Salia
The police have arrested five persons believed to be members of an
advanced fee fraud gang, popularly known as ‘419’, at a house in
Community 18 in Tema.
The five, made up of two Nigerians, two Ghanaians and a Canadian,
are Joseph Ohia, 35, Eze Kalu, 52, both Nigerians; Alex Ampiah, 35, a
taxi driver, and David Adjei, 31, both Ghanaians and Bill Chase, 55, the
Canadian.
A trunk full of fake dollar bills was retrieved from the home of the
suspects.
Two other Nigerians, identified only as Philip and Sony Achiba,
escaped arrest and have been declared wanted by the police.
The Officer in charge of Operations at the Criminal Investigations
Department (CID), Chief Superintendent Amadu Salifu, told the Daily
Graphic yesterday that the police had information that there was an
advanced fee fraud gang operating in a house at Community 18.
He said the information indicated that the gang had been inviting
unsuspecting foreigners, particularly whites, to come and help them
transfer treasures they had inherited from their deceased relatives.
Chief Supt. Salifu said following the tip-off, the police monitored the
activities of occupants of the house for sometime and became
convinced that there was some unusual business being transacted
there.
He said that was because the police detected that a lot of people,
including whites, frequently went in and out of the house.
According to him, it also came to light that David Adjei was the
custodian of the trunk full of the fake dollar bills and brought it to the
house each time there was a victim to exploit.
Chief Supt. Salifu said the police swooped on the house last Tuesday
and arrested the suspects.
He said subsequent investigations also revealed that Ampiah, was
always in court to stand surety for suspected 419 criminals.
Here is the URL for as long as it is good:
http://www.graphicghana.info/article.asp?artid=13559
***********************************************
7 AUG 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper The Guardian:
EFCC to register cybercafes, others
By Sonny Aragba Akpore Asst. Communications Editor
INTERNET Service Providers (ISPs) who intend to remain in business have up till
September 7 to register with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Cybercafe operators have up till November 30 to do so.
Similarly, GSM service providers and Private Telecommunications Operators (PTOs)
which offer skeletal Internet services on their networks have till the same September 7 to
register with the anti-graft body.
The foregoing conditions are contained in a new law to combat cybercrime and fraud-
related offences.
Christened "Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act 2006," the law was
signed recently by President Olusegun Obasanjo.
It prescribes, among others, ways to combat cybercrime and other related online frauds.
But while in previous laws the onus was on the government to carry out a surveillance on
such crimes and alleged criminals, the new law vests this responsibility on industry
players, including ISPs and cybercafe operators, among others.
While the EFCC becomes the sub-sector regulator, the law prescribes that henceforth,
any user of Internet services shall no longer be accepted as anonymous.
Through what has been prescribed as Due Care Measure, cybercafe operators and
ISPs will henceforth monitor the use of their systems and keep a record of transactions
of users.
Such details include, but not limited to, photographs of users, their home addresses,
telephone numbers and next-of-kin.
This means that to register as a user, the user's name, address, telephone, e-mail
address and photograph should be available, according to the Act.
The President signed the law on June 5, 2006.
And for the purposes of identification, three key data should be provided, from the
following: national identification card, drivers licence, international passport, utility bill
and/or certificate of incorporation if need be.
The onus is on the service provider to define an anonymous or known user.
The act complements the EFCC Due Care Committee guidelines, which among others,
stipulate that:
the new advance fee fraud law requires service providers to keep and maintain a
record of all customers and users:
the records to be kept are detailed in Part II, Section 12 of the law, which concerns
identity of users;
upon request by the EFCC, of the details of a customer who has allegedly committed a
fraud, the service provider will oblige such details of the customers;
that service providers must guard against the use of their network for criminal activities.
But ISPs and Cybercafe operators say that due to the nature of technology, it may be
difficult to completely eradicate cybercrimes and to properly identify the criminals.
The new Act says all ISPs have up till September 7, 2006 to register with the EFCC while
the cybercafe operators, have up till November 30, 2006 to do the same.
President, Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), Mr. Lanre Ajayi, and his Association of
Cybercafe and Telecentre Operators of Nigeria (ACTO Nigeria) counterpart, Mr. Lao
Omotola, confirmed the development.
Ajayi explained that the EFCC has been on this subject for quite some time and "has
tried to carry everybody along. His words: "We were aware of this before the policy or
law came out. The EFCC wants to know who is in business and how it is being done."
Ajayi, who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pinet Informatics Limited, an ISP-
based firm in Lagos said: "We want to rise to the occasion and the challenges
therefrom."
He explained that electronic commerce (e-commerce) thrives on trust and "if it must be
realistic here, we must put in place rules to checkmate online crimes."
"We share the views of the EFCC but in carrying out the process of authentication, we
must be careful so that we don't infringe on the user's rights," Ajayi advised.
Omotola spoke in a similar vein, saying the idea is not novel in Nigeria since, South
Africa, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and to some extent, Brazil have adopted similar
approaches to chock the cybercrime scourge.
Omotola, who is the CEO of Next Technology Limited, further explained that even
upstream operators, like Intelsat, Gilat, New Skies, among others, will also have their
services registered with the EFCC for their products and services to be sold locally.
The reasons for this, according to EFCC officials, is that "in the past, we ran into difficulty
in prosecuting these upstream operators "because our laws did not cover their
jurisdictions."
So far, over 20 cybercafes have been raided by the EFCC in the last one month.
The operators appear set to comply with the law by notifying users of the relevant
portion of the law, corporate user policy, firewall recommendation, protection procedure,
indemnity and right of disclosure among others.
According to the Act, telecommunication operators, including GSM service providers
and PTOs, which now offer skeletal Internet services on their networks, also have up till
September 7, 2006 to register such services with the EFCC.
They are also to show evidence of Due Care and Surveillance System, which they have
installed in their networks for the purposes of the monitoring of cybercrimes.
All operators are to develop and put in place compliance standard, certification
procedure to monitor certification compliance.
They are also expected to put in place a filter technology to determine the expectations
and standards for a filter to be deployed at the service provider's gateway.
Restrictions of Spam mails and other letters that may be letters of threats are also to be
monitored by the filter technology. All such reports should be available online for a
period of three months and archived for up to one year.
The EFCC will see to the enforcement of the laws.
The registration of all users and operators will subsist, despite the existence of the
Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
Offenders would be tried by the Federal High Court or the High Court of the Federal
Capital Territory or High Courts in the states.
Every cybercafe operator must expose all computers used in browsing because the
era of hidden computers is over, according to Omotola.
He explained that this was one of the highpoints of the agreement his association
reached with the EFCC.
According to him, each cybercafe will henceforth be a watchdog to others and if any of
them is found indulging in cybercrime "we will dialogue with the operator and if dialogue
fails, after three attempts, we shall have no option than to expose the cybercafe to the
EFCC."
Besides, there will be a monthly meeting between the EFCC and cybercafes to review
progress and new ways to uncover new tactics, he added.
419 Coalition Comment: Sounds great in in theory, we also hope it
works great in practice.
*******************************************
4 AUG 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper ThisDay:
Terrorism: EFCC Confirms Arrests of 14 Suspects
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested a terrorism
suspect in a raid on a cybercafe, NetXpress, located on Road 51, Festac town, Lagos.
The commission disclosed that 13 other suspects caught in the act of sending scam
mails to Europe and America, were also arrested.
The suspect who claimed to represent a faceless terror group, Terrorist International
was caught demanding payoff from a multinational oil company to forestall the kidnap of
its expatriate staff in the Niger Delta. The other suspects were caught sending scanned
documents purportedly issued by Chief Executives of Nigerian government agencies
such as the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation, NNPC.
During the operation which lasted for two hours, several documents and equipment
being used by the fraudsters to commit advance fee fraud were confiscated. Among
these were more than 30 computer units.
The suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigation, which is still ongoing, is
concluded.
The Commission has in recent weeks stepped up the arrest of Internet fraudsters
following the enactment of the new Advance Fee Fraud Act, which empowers EFCC to
close down any cyber- cafe being used to send 419 letters. Apart from the scam artist,
both the owner of the cafe and the landlord of the building where it is located are also
held liable for the crime.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=54850
**************************************************
15 JUL 2006
There is an excellent article in the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard on
the history etc. of 419 in Nigeria but it is too long to be posted here.
However, here is a link to the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/cover/july06/15072006/f615072006.html
*******************************************************************
6 JUL 2006
From the Ghana News Agency:
Three computer fraudsters arrested
Accra, July 6, GNA - Three Nigerians have been arrested for attempting
to dupe a bank by using fake Western Union authorisation notes to
withdraw monies.
They are Alexander Nwabueze; Joshua Alamu Thomas, 29, and Kelvin
Oziri, 22.
Mr Patrick Ampewuah, Deputy Director-General of the Criminal
Investigations Department (CID), told the Ghana News Agency in Accra
that a pen drive was found with the suspects on which letterheads of
both national and international institutions used for fraudulent activities
were found.
He said most of these computer criminals, who were mainly foreigners,
were now into attempts to defraud banks by trying to access their
computer systems.
Police said on June 20, Nwabueze went to the Western Union branch at
Prudential Bank at Makola in Accra to cash 950 dollars. However, on
verifying the authenticity of the note for the claim it was identified to be
faked. He was, therefore, handed over to the Police.
On June 28, two of the suspects, Thomas and Oziri also came to cash
5,500 Euros through the same methods but their inability to know, who
was remitting the money and where it was coming from led to suspicion,
upon which it was discovered that the note they were using was faked.
Information on the pen drive retrieved from the suspects revealed that
they included forged documents of Bank of Ghana; Barclays Bank;
ECOWAS Financial Monitoring Union; Swiss Financial Trust Bank;
Federal Reserve Bank of the United States; Supreme Court certified
affidavits and a United Arab Emirates passport.
The others are Ghanaian passports with the same picture but different
names, pictures of gold mines and workers working in these mines.
*********************************
4 JUL 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard. This was a 2 subject
story, we have edited out the subject not relevant to 419:
EFCC swoop on Lagos cyber cafes
From Chuks Akunna in Abuja
... the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has started the enforcement of the new Advance Fee Fraud Act,
signed into law last month by President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Operatives of the commission, last week, swooped on cyber cafes in Orile and Festac suburbs of Lagos and arrested cyber
crime suspects aged between 18 and 25 years, caught in the act of sending scam mails to Europe and America.
Arrested along with them, were the owners of the cyber cafes and landlords of the buildings in which they were located.
A total of 74 computer systems were confiscated in the operations and would be tendered as evidence in court.
According to EFCC spokesman, Osita Nwajah, "the Commission wishes to draw the attention of Nigerians to the provisions of
the Advance Fee Fraud Act, 2006, which imposes a sentence of up to 15 years without an option of fine for anyone who permits
his/her premises to be used for 419 activities. The law also prescribes a jail term of up to 20 years without the option
of fine for convicted 419ers."
419 Coalition Comment: More grease to the EFCC's collective elbow!
*******************************
24 JUN 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper Vanguard:
Advanced fee fraud: EFCC indicts NCC
By Chinyere Amalu, Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) has indicted
Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) for being responsible for all
related electronic telecommunication offences. Speaking at a one day
meeting aimed at finding lasting solution to end ISPs/ Cybercafe’ crime
related issues, with all ISP/Cybercaféés providers yesterday in Abuja,
the Executive Secretary of EFCC Mallam Nuhu Ribadu said that NCC
has failed in its regulatory roles in curtailing fraud emanating from
telecommunication service. His words, "I think NCC should take the
blame for all the advanced fee fraud cases emanating from the ISPs/
Cybercaféés service providers."
"This is because they issue license to all service providers without
taking the required measures. NCC has failed in its regulatory role and
should stand up to their responsibilities. It has failed the nation, it is its
duty to monitor all telecommunication service providers and sanction
the erring ones."
"We have not heard a number of them being sanctioned. Yet cyber
crimes keep increasing every day", he said. The EFCC Chairman
whocriticised ISPs/Cybercafe’s providers urged them to stop all
fraudsters from using their cybercafe or any of their telecommunication
service in carrying out their 419 businesses. "We must stop all 419 in
our country, we must stop fraudsters. I know that you are making money
from the business, but that should not be to the detriment of the entire
nation. We will not allow you to keep on destroying Nigeria simply
because you are making money. It is not fair," he said. "You will go to
jail if you continue. And we will confiscate all your facilities and lock
them up. We called all of you here so that we can reason together and
find out the lasting solution to stop all these, 419."
"Fraudsters must stop. If not we will close all cybercaféés and their
sources of income," he emphasized. Ribadu stated that proliferation of
cybercafe in the recent past has led to an upsurge in Internet
commerce, dating, employment, scholarship, and lottery, inheritance
scams. According to him, "Activities of customers must be monitored,
while all night browsing now common among young Internet scammers
should be discouraged."
"Deployment of basic text categorization filtering software by ISPs and
Cybercafe operators will prevent abuse of facilities by criminals." He,
however, warned that systems at public cybercafes must be configured
to block access to popular hackers’ websites from where fraudsters
download free credit card details and obtain hints on cyber fraud
techniques.
419 Coalition Note: Sounds good to us, denying the use of
cybercafes in Nigeria to the 419ers would indeed be a major
positive step towards getting the problem under control.
***************************************************
22 JUN 2006
From the Dutch newspaper Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant
English translation followed by Dutch original:
Dutch police hunts internet gangs
By Ferdi Schrooten PZC
The Hague- In the last quarter of 2006 the Dutch police will start an
attack on West African fraudster rings. Thereto a super regional team of
investigators is founded. Chambers of Commerce, telephone
companies, internet providers and banks are supposed to help on
fighting these gangs, who world-wide harm people with losses of
millions of euros.
"The ‘West-Africans team’ consists of the three regional police forces of
Haaglanden, Kennemerland and Amsterdam" explains an Amsterdam-
Amstelland police spokesman. The three police forces work with
investigators who are specialized and experienced in scams by
primarily Nigerian gangs. By means of e-mail these gangs let potential business
partners believe that they are gaining millions because they
have inherited a big sum of money or because they have won a lottery.
At the end of the day the investors lose money (most of the time
thousands of euros).
The attack will last six months and is meant to make the Netherlands
less attractive for these West African gangs. At this moment it’s too
easy for them to set up their 419 (the relevant section in Nigerian
criminal law) scams in the Netherlands. The Netherlands are an
international well known centre of West African networks. In due time the
Dutch ministry of internal affairs will start deliberations with companies
and institutions which are being abused by these gangs.
It’s the intention that internet providers will block the accounts of those
who send malign e-mails. Telephone-operators will block the
telephones of fraudsters.
Better checks by the chambers of commerce must make it more difficult
for gangsters to register ghost companies under a false name with
which they can open bank accounts to launder money. The ‘West-
Africans team’ will trace these accounts. For this purpose they can use
the Dutch "Meldpunt Ongebruikelijke Transacties (MOT)", where
unusual financial transactions are being registered. The MOT works in
close co-operation with the Dutch banks.
===============
Dutch version
PZC
Politie jaagt op internetbendes
door Ferdi Schrooten
DEN HAAG - De politie begint dit najaar een offensief tegen
oplichtersnetwerken uit het westen van Afrika. Drie korpsen vormen
daartoe samen een bovenregionaal opsporingsteam.
Kamers van Koophandel, telefoonmaatschappijen, internetproviders
en banken moeten helpen bij het bestrijden van de bendes, die
wereldwijd mensen voor miljoenen euro’s duperen.
Het ’West-Afrikanenteam’ wordt gevormd door de regiokorpsen
Haaglanden, Kennemerland en Amsterdam, zegt een woordvoerder
van de politie Amsterdam-Amstelland. In de drie korpsen hebben
gespecialiseerde rechercheurs al vaak te maken met oplichting door
vooral Nigeriaanse bendes. In e-mails spiegelen die potentiële
zakenpartners miljoenenopbrengsten voor uit niet bestaande
erfenissen en loterijprijzen. Investeerders zijn hun geld - meestal vele
duizenden euro’s - kwijt.
419-fraude
Het offensief dat een half jaar duurt, moet Nederland onaantrekkelijk
maken voor de vanuit het westen van Afrika opererende oplichters. Die
kunnen hier nu veel te makkelijk hun gang gaan met hun ’419-fraude’,
vernoemd naar het artikel over oplichting in de Nigeriaanse strafwet.
Nederland staat internationaal te boek als ’knooppunt’ van netwerken uit het westen van Afrika. Het ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken
overlegt binnenkort met bedrijven en instellingen die door deze
bendes worden misbruikt.
Het is de bedoeling dat internetproviders afzenders van malafide e-
mails blokkeren. Telefoonbedrijven moeten de telefoons van
oplichters blokkeren.
Betere controles bij de Kamers van Koophandel moeten het moeilijker
maken voor bendes om onder valse naam dekmantelbedrijven in te
schrijven, waarmee ze bij banken witwasrekeningen openen. Die
rekeningen spoort het West-Afrikanenteam op met het Meldpunt
Ongebruikelijke Transacties, dat nauw samenwerkt met de banken.
Here is a link to the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.pzc.nl/internationaal/binnenland/article434434.ece
419 Coalition Comment: The recent actions of the Dutch authorities
against 419 are very welcome, as the Netherlands is a hotbed of
419 operations, particularly Lottery 419. However, we must note that
the problem there is so large that a six month operation, though welcome,
will only superficially inconvenience the 419ers.... What is needed is
an extended, ongoing operation, coupled with Centralized Reporting,
if 419 is to be controlled in the Netherlands (and that is also true
elswewhere for that matter).
***************************************************
3 JUN 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper The Punch:
EFCC traces N18.7 million to school leavers’ accounts
Sesan Olufowobi
Two secondary school leavers are currently explaining to the operatives of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on how they managed to accumulate a
total sum of N18.7 million in their accounts at Access Bank.
Officials of the Onikan, Lagos branch of the bank initially arrested Stephen Uwem Silas
(25) and Kennedy Aifuwa Umweni (23), who were bosom friends, before handing them
over to EFCC.
Saturday Punch was told that they were alarmed that the young boys, who also
confessed that they were unemployed, could have such large amount of deposit in their
accounts. It was learnt that while Silas had N13. 7 million in his account, Umweni had
over N5 million.
Interestingly, Silas’ younger brother, Aniekal, unwittingly caused the duo’s journey to
trouble. An official of the EFCC told our correspondent that Aniekal had gone to the bank
in the morning to make N5,000 withdrawal, but could not do so as he had just N522 in the
account. A few hours later, he returned to the bank, but this time clutching Umweni’s
cheque book. Luck ran out on him as the signature was discovered to be forged. He
was subsequently arrested.
Aniekal had then mentioned that the owner of the account was a family friend, which
prompted the bank official to call Umweni, inviting him to come and identify Aniekal.
However, when Umweni arrived in company with Silas, the officials of Access Bank
found it difficult to believe that such a young man, who had earlier said he was
unemployed and applying to the university to study, could command a large sum as N5
million in his account.
In the course of their investigation, it was also discovered that Silas was a customer of
the bank. After discreetly checking his own account, the bank officials found
N13.7million. They subsequently invited the EFCC.
An official of the commission told Saturday Punch that the team that investigated the
case discovered that there was a pattern in the deposits of both suspects. "We
discovered that they usually deposit their funds on the same day and almost the same
amount."
He said that initially, the boys claimed that their fathers and relatives deposited the
money in their accounts, "but now they are singing different tunes. Silas said he got just
N300, 000 of the amount from Internet fraud, the rest was from two unknown friends in
Nigeria and England. But for Umweni, he said those who gave him the money are all
Nigerians from the Internet. We have however, gone through their E-mail and
discovered a lot of scam letters. They are Internet fraudsters," the official said.
Spokesman of the commission, Osita Nwaja who confirmed the case said the three
boys involved in the scam had cases to answer, adding that they would face trial as
soon as investigation was completed.
**********************************************
28 MAY 2006
From the Washington Post:
Even Smarties Get Swindled on the Net
New Twists on an Old Scam Are Circulating
By Don Oldenburg
Who falls for this stuff?
Who's so greedy or naive to get suckered by those Nigerian scams that litter inboxes
and spam filters with rubbish so clearly a ruse you'd have to be a knucklehead or on
drugs not to just delete 'em?
That's the question people ask. Readers raise it all the time. Whenever the column or
talk turns to swindles and the Nigerian e-mail nonsense in particular, they want to know:
Who could possibly fall for this?
You might be surprised.
Sami Klein received an e-mail a few months ago from someone named "Susan Bryant,"
purportedly an art dealer in London who needed a representative in the United States to
"facilitate money exchanges" with her U.S. customers. Something about Americans who
buy her artwork always paying with money orders that are difficult to cash in London.
Thinking it was legit, and maybe an interesting opportunity, Klein replied with her name
and address as requested.
"I didn't worry about sending it to her," says Klein, 66, a retired science librarian from
Columbia, who knows better than to give out her Social Security number, credit card and
banking information to strangers but figured sending her name and address wouldn't
hurt.
A week later, Klein received an envelope containing five Wal-Mart money orders made
out to her, each for $925. As instructed, she cashed the money at her bank, kept 10
percent and wired the remainder via Western Union to "Bryant's" husband who just
happened to be in Nigeria collecting wood for art work.
"I never knew that money orders could be recalled, but that is what happened," says
Klein, whose bank deducted the $4,000 she wired to Nigeria from her own funds. Never
mind the $462 commission she thought she earned -- that was as bogus as the
counterfeit Wal-Mart money orders.
But that didn't end the scam. Even as Klein was making out the police report and putting
her bank on notice, she was still receiving e-mails from Bryant prepping her for more
transactions. She messaged back that she wanted the $4,000 restored to her account
and wasn't doing any more work until it was.
Bryant sent an apologizing e-mail to Klein, filled with lousy grammar and misspellings,
blaming the "delay" on the U.S. customer. She promised to wire 20 percent
commissions directly to a Wells Fargo bank account for Klein's future help. Oh, and she
said she'd happily instruct Klein how to open that account.
Klein declined. "I could be a sucker once, but I'm not stupid," she says. "Lesson
learned."
Look, Klein doesn't qualify as a greedy or naive person. Other than being retired, she's
not standard scam-victim material. She has traveled the globe and lived in Japan, Italy
and Malta. Since retiring, she has stayed active -- she gardens, reads extensively, does
computer database work, knits hats for cancer patients and even serves as president of
her temple. If she could fall for it, so could lots of people. And they do.
Last March, it was Louis A. Gottschalk, the respected founding chairman of the
psychiatry department at the University of California at Irvine. He wired $3 million to
Nigeria. In April, there was an Idaho financial planner. Last year, a Los Angeles record
producer. How about the Massachusetts psychotherapist profiled in New Yorker this
month?
"There are some highly educated people who for whatever reasons fall victim to this,"
says Tom Mazur, spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates such
scams. "I don't know their motivation for getting pulled into one of these schemes.
Certainly these types of criminals prey on the emotions and on people's sympathies
sometimes. But somewhere in the back of their minds, the victim's got to be thinking
about getting rich quick."
Nigerian fraud scams (aka "419 scams" after the Nigerian penal code addressing
fraud) have been around since the '70s when money was swindled the old-fashioned
way -- con artists had to lick stamps and send letters. The Internet changed all that,
making it easy to spam millions of potential victims with classic 419 scam e-mails,
purportedly from the daughter of a deposed African dictator or a former finance minister
of an African nation who seeks your help in transferring millions of dollars to the United
States -- and promises a tasty percentage for your help!
Too absurd to work? Ultrascan Advanced Global Investigations, a Dutch private
investigation firm that has been studying 419 scams worldwide for a decade, released
its latest damage estimates in March. Companies and individuals in the United States
were scammed for $720 million in losses in 2005, it estimates. Total losses from 37
nations to these scams is almost $3.2 billion. The United Kingdom has the second-
highest losses at $520 million, and Spain and Japan tied for third at $320 million in
losses.
Tens of thousands of victims worldwide fall victim to the scams each year -- and while
the losses per victim are decreasing due to more scammers working the lower-amount
swindles (like phony money orders, lottery fraud and auction overpayment schemes),
the number of victims are increasing, UAGI reports on its Web site. The Internet Crime
Complaint Center (IC3) estimates that, based on complaints it received, the average
loss to a 419 swindle last year was $5,000. According to the Federal Trade Commission,
Internet-related fraud complaints involving a "wire transfer" of money as the payment
method -- typical of 419 scams -- more than tripled from 2004 and 2005.
Mazur says that since the explosion of the Internet, these criminals can spam a whole
group of individuals at home and at work and have gained wide access to an
unsuspecting public. "If they put out 100,000 e-mails and two people bite," he says, "it
would be a successful day."
Adding to the success of these scams is the number of sophisticated variations. The
"London art dealer" ploy in Klein's case was a relatively new twist that started showing
up in January. In late March, a rash of e-mails targeted bed-and-breakfast inns
nationwide. Scammers made reservations, purportedly for a UNICEF representative in
Ghana. Payments arrived as cashier's checks for too much money and the scammers
asked that the difference be returned. Last August, the 419 scammers stooped so low
as to take advantage of the London terrorist bombings, informing e-mail recipients
they'd been left money by one of the victims.
"These schemes run the gamut of sounding very lucrative, but there is that questionable
arrangement," warns Mazur.
Rich Siegel has a word of advice. "No one is going to give you $12 million. . . . You don't
have a long-lost uncle who died in a car accident on Sagbama Road in the jungles of
Nigeria. You never purchased the winning ticket in a Sub-Saharan international lottery,"
he writes on his Web site.
Siegel received just such an absurd e-mail, supposedly from a Mr. Ibrahim Mantu, who
promised him more than $10 million from a Nigerian monetary fund. All Siegel had to do
was assist the transfer of funds to the United States.
Weary of receiving scam spam, he decided to scam the scammer. Using a fake name
(that when articulated slowly in English is obscene), Siegel began an e-mail exchange
that lasted seven months.
"I knew about the scams but I thought writing back to them was kind of a lark," says
Siegel, author of the book "Tuesdays With Mantu: My Adventures With a Nigerian Con
Artist."
Siegel thinks it isn't fair to say people are victims of their own greed. "That's an easy
way out, to attribute this to greed," he says. "Surely greed may be part of it. But a lot of
the e-mails target retirees with inheritance scams that seem feasible. And they target
sympathetic victims who figure they'll help someone out of a jam. For them, this is in the
realm of possibilities."
By the way, law enforcement authorities have mixed feelings about "scam-baiters" like
Siegel who string along criminals and sabotage their scams for amusement or revenge
-- no matter how many precautions they take. Scammers have been known to turn
threatening and dangerous.
"My advice is to ditch it," says Siegel. "The minute you recognize it for what it is, just ditch
it -- unless you have nothing better to do like I did and want to have to fun. But you have
to be careful."
Mazur recommends deleting the suspect e-mails. "Let standard business practices take
place -- that's the message," he says. "Nothing is free in our lifetimes. If it is too good to
be true, it probably is."
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/27/AR2006052700079.html
***************************************
20 MAY 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper The Punch:
Internet fraud syndicate held over botched $31m scam
Sesan Olufowobi
Four Internet fraudsters, aka ‘Yahoo boys’ and the proprietor of a cyber café in Lagos,
have been arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over their
alleged involvement in a potential scams worth $31 million.
Saturday Punch gathered that the EFCC took interest in the cyber café, located in
Surulere, Lagos, after it received an anonymous e-mail about economic crimes which
were allegedly being committed at the business centre.
A senior EFCC official told our correspondent during the week that the petition alleged
among other things that the café was being used by fraudsters. The letter also indicated
that the centre was run on a 24-hour basis, while the proprietor was actively involved in
the operations of the fraudsters.
The official said EFCC operatives carried out a covert check on the business centre to
verify the allegations before swooping on its operators on Wednesday.
"We got there around 2.30 pm and discovered that about 40 people were there. Some
of them managed to escape but the rest that were caught were made to undergo
screening and at the end of the day, we caught four of them in the middle of different
scams," the EFCC operative said.
The four suspects as well as the proprietor were taken to the EFCC’s office in Lagos.
Saturday Punch gathered that one of them was in the middle of a $10.5 million scam
using a fake company, Heritage, as a front. Another was allegedly in the middle of $15.2
million fraud, using the October 22, 2005 Bellview plane crash as the ground for the
extortion of a potential victim while the third was involved in a $5.5 million scam.
The official said the suspects signed documents relating to their foiled scams after the
operatives had printed them out, adding that 85 computers were taken from the café.
"The M.D. said his server is in the United States, that he was being served directly from
the US but we are still looking at that," he said.
When contacted, the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Osita Nwaja, said the
case was being investigated to ascertain the involvement of the suspects in the scams.
***********************************************
8 MAY 2006
The New Yorker magazine has published a good article
on a Classic 419 and Check 419 case, which is too long to be
published here. Here is the URL of the piece for as long
as it is good:
http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fact/060515fa_fact
******************************************
1 MAY 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper The Punch. Several
other Nigerian newspapers also carried the story:
419: S'Court confirms ex-bank chief's conviction
Tobi Soniyi and Oluyinka Akintunde, Abuja
The Supreme Court has confirmed a three-and-a half-year jail term slammed on a
former Chairman of the defunct Ivory Merchant Bank Limited, Dr. Edwin Onwudiwe, by
the Failed Bank Tribunal.
Onwudiwe was convicted of theft, obtaining money by false pretence and corrupt
enrichment on November 11, 1998.
He was charged with eight-count offences, but was convicted on four counts only.
The tribunal sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment or N50,000 fine in count three
where he was charged with fraudulent conversion of the proceeds of a Crystal Bank of
Africa Limited certified cheque issued in favour of Ivory Merchant Bank in the sum of
N16.56 million. The offence is punishable under section 390 (7) of the Criminal Code Act.
The tribunal also convicted him of defrauding Partnership Investment Company Limited
by making a false representation to the company that Ivory Merchant Bank Limited had
$345,000 for sale, thereby inducing the company to deliver to him a Crystal Bank of
Africa Limited certified cheque for N16.5 million issued in favour of Ivory Merchant Bank
Limited.
He was accused of diverting the proceeds, which he dishonestly obtained and
appropriated, to his own use.
The offence is punishable under Section 419 of the Criminal Code Act. On this count, the
tribunal slammed a two-year-jail term on Onwudiwe without any option of fine.
He was dissatisfied with the tribunal's judgment and appealed to the Court of Appeal for
an order discharging and acquitting him.
His arguments did not find favour with the Court of Appeal's justice and he finally
appealed to the Supreme Court.
Justice Dahiru Musdapher, who delivered the lead judgment, dismissed Onwudiwe's
appeal on the grounds that it lacked merit.
He was supported by Justices Umaru Kalgo, Niki Tobi Mahmud Mohammed and
Walter Onnoghen
**************************************
13 APR 2006
From the Daily Sun, a Nigerian newspaper:
Nigeria's anti-graft war excites US
Dept of State rates EFCC high
From Collins Edomaruse in Abuja
The United States of America has expressed satisfaction with Nigeria's strides in the
fight against corruption and related offences and says it will continue to encourage the
country (Nigeria) in her efforts to eradicate corruption.
The US also said it was excited by the successes recorded so far by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which it described as an organisation that had
performed creditably in the discharge of its duties.
In its latest report on Nigeria, the US Department of State said of the EFCC: "In 2005, the
EFCC marked significant successes in combating financial crime. During 2005, the
EFCC seized money laundering-related assets worth $1billion, more than a 100 percent
increase from 2004."
Giving a historical overview of Nigeria's demonstration of determination to wage war
against corruption, money laundering and related activities, the United States said in the
report, which was released few days ago, that in spite the federal government's steps at
eradicating the scourge, "Nigerian criminal organizations have proven adept at
devising new ways of subverting international and domestic law enforcement efforts and
evading detection.
"Their success in avoiding detection and prosecution has led to an increase in many
types of financial crimes, including bank fraud, real estate fraud, identity theft, and
advance fee fraud. Despite years of government effort to counter rampant crime and
corruption, Nigerians continue to be plagued by crime.
"The establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and of
the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the improvement in training
qualified prosecutors in Nigerian courts has yielded some successes in 2005."
It also said that: "In addition to narcotics-related money laundering, advance fee fraud is
a lucrative financial crime that generates hundreds of millions of illicit dollars annually for
criminals. Initially, Nigerian criminals made advance fee fraud infamous; more recently,
nationals of many African countries and from a variety of countries around the world
have begun to perpetrate advance fee fraud.
"This type of fraud is referred to internationally as "Four-One-Nine" fraud (419 is a
reference to the fraud section in Nigeria's criminal code). While there are many
variations, the main goal of 419 frauds is to deceive victims into payment of an advance
fee by persuading them that they will receive a very large benefit in return.
"These 'get rich quick' schemes have ended for some victims in monetary losses,
kidnapping, or murder. Through the Internet, businesses and individuals around the
world have been and continue to be targeted by perpetrators of 419 scams. The EFCC
has tried to combat 419-related cyber crimes, but there have only been a few recorded
successes as a result of their cyber crime initiatives."
The report also underscored the role of the legislature in passing laws that in the main
enhanced the effectiveness of the EFCC and the desire of the Federal Government to
wipe out corruption.
Specifically, it noted that: "In 2004, the National Assembly passed the Money
Laundering (Prohibition) Act (2004), which applies to the proceeds of all financial crimes.
It also covers stock brokerage firms and foreign currency exchange facilities, in addition
to banks and financial institutions.
"The legislation gives the CBN greater power to deny bank licenses and freeze
suspicious accounts. This legislation also strengthens financial institutions by requiring
more stringent identification of accounts, removing a threshold for suspicious
transactions, and lengthening the period for retention of records.
"In November 2004, the EFCC reported that the great majority of Nigeria's banks were
not in compliance with the new law, typically by not adhering to the know-your-customer
and know-your-customer's-business provisions of the law and by neglecting to file
suspicious transactions reports (STRs). The EFCC promised a new initiative to educate
bank personnel and the general public about the provisions of the law before imposing
sanctions for non-compliance."
The laws and their amendment the report added, paved the way for the EFCC and its
sister organisations to make huge hauls of seizures and arrests of criminals, including
their prosecution.
"Two fraudsters in a Brazilian bank scam involving a total of $242 million in assets were
successfully prosecuted and convicted for terms of 25 and 12 years in prison,
respectively.
"Their assets were seized, and they were ordered to give $110 million in restitution to the
bank. Last in 2005, the EFCC returned $4.481 million to an elderly woman swindled by a
Nigerian 419 kingpin in 1995.
"The kingpin was arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and is serving his prison sentence. A
former inspector general of police (Mr. Tafa Balogun) was arrested and prosecuted for
financial crimes valued at over $13 million. His assets were seized and bank accounts
frozen. He served a prison sentence of six months and still faces 92 charges of money
laundering and official corruption.
"Two sitting state governors are currently the subject of money laundering
investigations.
"The EFCC, working with the FBI, also has an active case involving a group of money
brokers using banks in the United States to launder money. The money laundering
legislation of 2004 has given the EFCC the authority to investigate and prosecute such
cases.
"The EFCC also has the authority to prevent the use of charitable and non-profit entities
as laundering vehicles, though no such case has yet been reported. There were 23
money-laundering convictions in 2005. The trial court process has improved after
several experienced judges were assigned specifically to handle EFCC cases; this has
motivated EFCC officials to bring more cases to court. During 2005, the EFCC seized
money laundering-related assets worth $1billion, more than a 100 percent increase from
2004."
The US government, therefore, rated Nigeria high in the prosecution of the corruption
war, saying:" The Government of Nigeria has done a better job preventing and pursuing
money laundering both within and outside the country in 2005.
"It should continue to engage with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to ensure that
Nigeria's remaining anti-money laundering deficiencies are corrected. The Nigerian
Government should continue to pursue their anti-corruption programme and support
both the ICPC and EFCC in their mandates to investigate and prosecute corrupt
government officials and individuals, while at the same time maintaining the
independence of those entities from the realm of politics.
"The supervision of banking and non-banking financial institutions should be
strengthened and moved from the Ministry of Commerce. Nigeria should construct a
comprehensive anti-money laundering regime that willingly shares information with
foreign regulatory and law enforcement agencies, is capable of thwarting money
laundering and terrorist financing, and conforms to all relevant international standards.
Most major Nigerian newpapers also covered this story.
**********************************************
8 APR 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper The Punch:
103 Sri-Lankan job seekers fall prey to Nigerian dupe
Sesan Olufowobi
No fewer than one hundred and three Sri- Lankans, who had hoped to work in the United
States of America, are currently licking their wounds after they discovered that they had
been conned by Nigerian fraudsters.
Also, about eight of the Sri-Lankans are currently serving jail terms in their home country
for attempting to use forged passports and visas that emanated from Nigeria to travel to
the US.
Besides, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), in an attempt to get at
the bottom of the scam has beamed its searchlights on the Nigerian Immigration
Service to fish out two officials of the commission that allegedly aided the fraudsters in
their crime.
Saturday Punch learnt that the fraud started with a notice that was posted on the internet
by one John Franken, who was supposed to be the Executive Director of King Fishers,
Sea Food Charter, operating from Alaska USA.
The notice requested for people from Bagladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Philippine,
Algeria, Sri-Lanka, Malaysia, India among other countries, who could work as a lobster
parkers, Sea food labourers, parkers and delivery drivers.
An official of the EFCC told our correspondent that a Sri-Lankan, P.S Obali, got in touch
with Franken and later Atuegbu Kelvin, who told Obali that his people, would need to get
passports, Nigerian Visas, US visa among other documents. "The arrangement then
was that the people would first come to Nigeria before moving to US. And all these
documents cost $400 each," said the official.
It was learnt that at a point, it was agreed that the people would come in batches, "that
was how four came to Nigeria not too long ago. But they were arrested and detained for
15 days for using fake documents."
The fraudsters, however, managed to pacify Obali, and when Obali visited Nigeria,
another man, Stanley Atuegbu, who claimed to be the son of Kelvin, met him. It was then
agreed that visas would be acquired in Nigeria and sent back to Sri-Lanka. Also a
Nigerian Immigration official would go to Sri-Lanka to clear the people so that it would
seem that they were truly in Nigeria to get the visas.
"Obali agreed and arrangement were made to send 20 people in first batch while the
documents for the others would be undergoing processing. In all, there were 103
passports," an EFCC officials said.
The official added that two immigration officials based in Lagos and Abuja collected
money to clear the people in Sri-Lanka but failed to appear.
He continued that, however, the new arrangement with Obali fell through when eight
people Obali placed on an aircraft for onward journey to USA were arrested for using
forged documents. It was then that it dawned on Obali that he had been taken for a ride.
He subsequently came to Nigeria and contacted the EFCC, which arrested Atuegbu.
"We are still looking for Franken. But for now, we have managed to recover $35,892.81."
EFCC spokesman, Osita Nwaja said the investigation was continuing.
**********************************************
6 APR 2006
From the Nigerian newpaper The Daily Sun:
Court orders sale of 419 convict’s buildings
It was a double tragedy for a fleeing 419 convict in Lagos, as a court
ordered that his multi-million naira property be disposed of and the
proceeds given to his victim as restitution.
Bright Ezekuse was convicted eight years ago by Justice Eyamba
Idem of the Miscellaneous Offences Tribunal for defrauding a German
national, Marinder Bajwa, to the tune of 353,900 dollars in a hoax
business transaction.
Ezekuse has, however, evaded serving 15 years prison term, having
been granted questionable bail in 2000.
He was found in his house when the prosecution took steps to cost the
value of his building in Ikotun to raise money to pay the victim. Sensing
danger at the discovery of his presence in the country, Ezekuse
developed wings and has since not been seen. However, the judge,
who gave him the bail was sacked following a petition sent to the
National Judicial Council (NJC) by the complainant.
Justice Yetunde Idowu gave the order directing the deputy sheriff of the
court to dispose of the convict’s property located in Ikotun, Ejigbo and
Isolo areas of Lagos, following the applications by the prosecution and
the victim.
The applications, among others, sought the court’s order authorizing the
sale of Ezekuse’s buildings located at 16, Oludotun Shobunkola street,
Ikotun, valued at N5 million, a hotel complex at 56, Association Avenue,
Ikotun, valued at N52 million and the one at 35, Yusuff street, Ejigbo
valued at N4.5 million.
Before granting the order to sell the property, Justice Idowu took time to
review the history of the case and steps taken by her court to ensure
that justice was done to the parties involved.
To ensure that the course of justice was not sacrificed, the court
ordered that the defendant be served the substituted service, by
pasting the court processes on his house and through advertisement in
a national (daily) newspaper.
The judge also directed that a professional valuer be contracted, to
ensure proper and correct value of the property, listed in the suit.
But in order to stall the sale of the property, the defendant brought
application, which, among others, sought an order to stay the execution
of the consequential order for payment of restitution, through the sales
of his property as ordered by Justice Eyamba in the November 26,
1998, judgement.
Specifically, the defendant contended that he was not the owner of the
property listed in the suit.
However, the claimants insisted that the defendant had fully exercised
his right of appeal, which he lost in the Court of Appeal, which re-
affirmed his conviction and the 15-years sentence earlier passed on
him.
Besides, the claimants argued that efforts were made by the deputy
sheriff and the prosecution to ensure that defendant’s counsel
witnessed the sale of the property, but because of the defendant’s
status as a fugitive convict, nobody was willing to be associated with
him.
After reviewing the case, Justice Idowu dismissed Ezekuse’s
application seeking to perpetually stall the execution of the
consequential order of restitution, as contained in the judgement of the
Miscellaneous Offence Tribunal in 1998.
The trial judge noted that throughout the proceedings, the defendant did
not appear in court, adding that no reason was given for his absence.
Besides, the court also noted that no explanation was given for the
delay in bringing the application for stay of execution despite that it was
served on time.
Consequently, the court held that there must be an end to litigation.
"Courts are not to deprive a successful litigant the fruits of its success
and the machinery of justice is not to be used such as to amount to an
abuse of the process of court."
In her reaction to the judgment, victim’s representative, Freida Springer-
Beck, expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the trial.
She said: "though, it may be a bit late, the most important thing is that
justice has been done and of course, the message that Nigeria is no
longer a haven for fraudsters is also implied by the out come."
Here is a link to the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/crimewatch/2006/apr/06/crimewatch-06-04-200 6-004.htm
**************************************
30 MAR 2006
From BBC News:
'Scammed by my internet lover'
Ghanaian Robert Adda, 35, told the BBC News website how he got
scammed on the internet while searching for love.
I was scammed two years ago, via the internet, by a woman I thought
was pushing me into love.
Initially she wasn't too ambitious to meet me. She just wanted to build a
friendship, it seemed and so we exchanged photographs and
communicated by email.
A few months went by and as time passed our intimacy increased. Not
a day went by without us being in contact.
I was single at the time and was looking to have a relationship.
Preyed upon
I didn't think it would lead to what it did. I believe that she preyed upon
my wish to find love.
She started talking to me about us being together, physically. She was
living in the US and I in Ghana. But I explained that I didn't have
immediate plans of travelling, and because I was working, it would be
difficult for me to travel any time soon.
She understood but then as time went by she started being pushy -
continuing to say that if I loved her then I would find a way to be with her
so that we could stay together.
She then introduced me to a programme called WRAHA which I think
she said stood for West African Refugee and Humanitarian Authority or
something like that.
Initially I objected. I didn't want to be a part of it. It was devious and
dishonest and purely, I really didn't want to travel abroad - that was my
major thing.
But as I discussed it with friends they encouraged me to try.
There were actually a lot of people who wanted to give it a go. Even
someone I know who had been previously been a victim to a similar
scam wanted to try.
Tricked
He told me that these matters were all down to luck and if you were
lucky then you would succeed.
For months afterwards I had to manage on very little money. I had to
use all my savings
We were not lucky, my friends and I.
We were tricked into making advance payments for emigrating to the
US.
We paid a number of fees ranging between $110 and $346 as our
applications progressed from one stage to the next.
Each time we were told that time was limited, because of deadlines,
and so there were only a few hours to get our payment through.
This deadline rush ended up being our trigger to suspect that
something was not right.
Disappointed
Sitting together and thinking and we all concluded that we'd been
scammed. My friends were disappointed, like me, but they were not
angry with me.
They knew that I was not the one who collected their money and they
knew that it had been a risk.
I never heard from my so-called friend in the US once I told her that it
was not going to be possible to continue making all the payments. That
was when our relationship came to an end.
I wonder if she ever even existed.
I was really disappointed in myself for having got involved in such
things. I couldn't be angry though. Instead I took as a lesson and put it
down to a bad experience.
For months afterwards I had to manage on very little money. I had to
use all my savings and start again from scratch.
If she actually existed and something more had happened then I would
have felt heartbroken, instead I felt as though someone had played with
me.
I am sorry that I allowed someone to play with me like that.
The reason these terrible scammers get away with their troublemaking
is because people are not satisfied with what they have.
Unfortunately, people's wish to travel abroad keeps these groups
going. I know some people who have fallen for these tricks not just once
but twice, even thrice.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4860864.stm
419 Coalition Note: Although part of this 419ers "tale" was
that she was a US resident, in reality she could have been
operating from anywhere. If there is Real evidence that
she was operating from the US, then this gent needs to
give it to the US Secret Service immediately and file
the necessary complaint.
**********************************************
24 MAR 2006
Here is a piece from consumeraffairs.com on the
recent arrests of 419ers in the Netherlands (see
news items for 23, 24, and 26 FEB below):
Feds Indict Four in Nigerian Advance-Fee Scam
Four people have been indicted on federal charges of running an "advance-fee"
scheme that targeted U.S. victims with promises of millions of dollars, including money
from an estate and from a lottery, according to federal prosecutors.
Three of the defendants named in the 11-count indictment -- two of whom were Nigerian
citizens residing in the Netherlands -- were arrested in Amsterdam by Dutch authorities
on February 21, 2006, based on a criminal complaint filed in the United States. They are
being held by the Dutch authorities pending extradition to the United States. The fourth
defendant, also a Nigerian citizen, is a fugitive.
The charges include one count of conspiracy, eight counts of wire fraud, one count of
mail fraud and one count of bank fraud, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney General
Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Roslynn R. Mauskopf of the
Eastern District of New York.
As part of a massive advance-fee scheme, the defendants allegedly sent spam e-mail
to thousands of potential victims in which they falsely claim to have control of millions of
dollars located in a foreign country that belongs to an individual with a terminal illness.
They are said to have then allegedly solicited the help of the potential victims to collect
and distribute the funds to charity.
In exchange for the victims' help, the defendants allegedly promised the victims a share
of a large inheritance, and inform the victims that they must pay a variety of advance
fees for legal representation, taxes or bogus documentation. After the victims wire-
transfer funds to pay the "required fees," the defendants do not deliver the funds as
promised. The victims lost more than $1.2 million.
"The defendants in this scheme allegedly fleeced many unsuspecting American victims
with promises of charitable contributions and personal riches," said Assistant Attorney
General Fisher. "We cannot allow these scam artists to prey on innocent victims in this
country, and we will work across the globe to knock out these fraudulent get-rich-quick
schemes."
"Global fraudsters need to know that we are determined to find and prosecute them,"
said U.S. Attorney Mauskopf. "Potential victims need to know that any email offering
millions of dollars that requires that they send money to receive this windfall is a
scheme. Delete it."
The investigation was initiated by Dutch authorities. After identifying victims in the United
States, Dutch authorities notified the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which opened its
own investigation. Dutch authorities, as part of "Operation Dutch Treat," arrested three of
the defendants on a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York.
The maximum penalty for mail and wire fraud is 20 years in prison, and the maximum
sentence for bank fraud is 30 years in prison. The conspiracy charge carries a
maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/03/us_nigerian_scam.html
***********************************************
23 MAR 2006
Here is a piece from IDG News which appeared in infoworld.com on
the US indictiments of the four recently arrested Dutch based 419ers:
New York City grand jury return 10 and 11-count indictments against four in Nigerian e-
mail scam
By Grant Gross
Four people have been indicted and could face 30 years in prison for a variation on a
popular scam in which e-mail senders claim they're trying to transfer money out of
Nigeria, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.
A grand jury in New York City on Wednesday returned a 10-count indictment against
three of the defendants and an 11-count indictment against the fourth. Alleged victims of
the four individuals lost more than $1.2 million, the DOJ said.
Three of the defendants were arrested in Amsterdam by Dutch authorities on Feb. 21,
based on a U.S. criminal complaint. They are being held by the Dutch authorities
pending extradition to the U.S., the DOJ said. The fourth defendant, a Nigerian citizen, is
a fugitive.
The four are Nnamdi Chizuba Anisiobi, also known as Yellowman, Abdul Rahman,
Helmut Schkinger, Nancy White, and other aliases; Anthony Friday Ehis, also known as
John J. Smith, Toni N. Amokwu and Mr. T; Kesandu Egwuonwu, also known as KeKe,
Joey Martin Maxwell, and David Mark; and an unnamed defendant known as Eric
Williams, Lee, Chucks and Nago.
The four are charged with one count of conspiracy, eight counts of wire fraud and one
count of mail fraud. Anisiobi is also charged with one count of bank fraud.
The maximum penalty for mail and wire fraud is 20 years in prison, and the maximum
sentence for bank fraud is 30 years in prison. The conspiracy charge carries a
maximum penalty of five years in prison.
The defendants allegedly sent spam e-mail messages to thousands of potential
victims, and they falsely claimed to have control of millions of dollars located in a
foreign country that belongs to an individual with a terminal illness, DOJ said.
These aren't the first charges in the e-mail advance-fee scam, popular with Nigerian
criminals. In January 2004, Dutch police arrested 52 people allegedly involved in
Nigerian e-mail and related scams, and in May 2002, South African police arrested six
people on related charges. U.S. authorities have also brought charges against other
Nigerian scammers.
The defendants allegedly solicited the help of the potential victims to collect and
distribute the funds to charity. In exchange for the victims' help, the defendants promised
the victims a share of the large inheritance, but told victims they must pay advance fees
for legal representation, taxes or bogus documentation.
After the victims wire transferred funds to pay the "required fees," the defendants did not
deliver the funds as promised, DOJ said.
"Global fraudsters need to know that we are determined to find and prosecute them,"
U.S. Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf of the Eastern District of New York said in a statement.
"Potential victims need to know that any e-mail offering millions of dollars that requires
that they send money to receive this windfall is a scheme. Delete it."
Here is a link to the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/03/23/76750_HNnigerianscamindictments_1.html
********************************************
21 MAR 2006
From the MetroWest Daily News, Framingham,
Massachussetts:
Toying with scam artists
By Andrew J. Manuse
A Framingham-based software engineer decided to play along with
some Nigerians who were attempting to steal his money, and released
a report yesterday detailing his experience.
"If you've had an e-mail account for even a short period of time, there's
an excellent chance that you've received at least one spam message
that's (known as) a 419 (Nigerian) scam message," wrote Michael
Lamont, a senior software engineer for Process Software LLC in his
report, "Exposing Nigerian Email Scams."
The 419 scam is named after a Nigerian law that addresses this type of
scheme, prevalent in the poverty-stricken West African nation. The
unsolicited e-mail messages usually come from an alleged Nigerian
"official" who "urgently" needs to unload his millions, and promises
recipients a cut of the spoils if they provide safe haven in their bank
account.
They actually come from "serious criminals" who are usually in Nigeria
and try to get gullible Westerners, often senior citizens, to send them
money "when they're not otherwise engaged in murder, kidnap, narco-
trafficking and armed robbery," the report says. They may also have
ties to criminal organizations closer to home, it says.
"I was personally curious what these guys do," Lamont said yesterday.
"The main thing I wanted to accomplish was to educate people."
Process Software also makes anti-spam software, called PreciseMail
Anti-Spam Gateway, which blocks 419 messages.
Lamont, who responded to several 419 scam e-mails using the alias
"Michael Hawk," said the e-mail form of the scam dates back about 10
years. The "advance fee scam" is also detailed on the U.S. Secret
Service's Web site, and can be traced back to even earlier times in fax
and regular mail form.
The Nigerian scammers send forged bank documents and other
identification to build trust, most recently via e-mail. Then they ask the
victim to send their bank account numbers, not to steal money, but to
make sure they have a willing victim on the other end, said Lamont, who
tested the idea by sending fake bank numbers. His Nigerian
"benefactor" did not flinch, he said.
Then they ask for several thousand dollars, $3,600 in Lamont's case, to
cover "legal fees" for processing the transaction. They invent
subsequent fees, which victims often pay because they have already
"invested" money in the deal.
Lamont took his experiment a step further, and asked the Nigerians to
send photos of themselves holding signs advertising the initials of his
company's software.
"I want a photo of you that I know can't be faked by a scammer," Lamont
wrote. "Once I have the photo, I will send the money for the attorney's
fees via Western Union."
In the report, Lamont says Western Union is the perfect tool for
scammers who can use a fake name and walk out the door with cash in
their hands.
Some of the scammers actually sent pictures, Lamont said, but others
stopped corresponding at that point. He never actually sent the money.
However, about 100,000 Americans have been victims of 419 scams
since the 1980s, and Americans have lost about $300 million a year to
the scammers, according to C.A. Pascale, coordinator for the Web-
based 419 Coalition.
Pascale, whose organization works to fight the Nigerian scammers, is
based in Virginia. About one-third of the organization's 50 members
were victims of 419 scams, he said.
The Nigerian government, which does have the 419 laws making these
scams illegal, blames Westerners' greed for their losses. If the e-mails
were legitimate, the American recipients of the Nigerians' money would
likely go to jail for laundering money.
For more detailed information about Lamont's experiment, download
his reports from www.process.com/nigerian.
(Andrew J. Manuse can be reached at amanuse@cnc.com or 508-626-
3964.)
Here is a link to the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/businessNews/view.bg?articleid=
124995&format=text
419 Coaltion note: 419ers are, of course, equal opportunity scammers and
steal from people of all nations, races, and creeds, not just Westerners.
And though this piece is using Classic 419 as the priomary model for
419 operations, other forms of 419 such as Lottery 419, Cashier's Check
419, Romance 419, and Employment 419 have become more and more prevalent
over recent years.
***************************************************
2 MAR 2006
From the Associated Press as appeared on KNBC 4
Los Angeles:
SoCal Psychiatrist Allegedly Duped in Nigerian Internet Scam
Santa Ana, Calif. -- An orange county doctor says his father, a renowned
UC Irvine psychiatrist, lost millions to a Nigerian internet scam and should be
removed as head of their family partnership.
Guy Gottschalk alleges that his father, Louis A. Gottschalk, traveled to Africa to
meet a shadowy figure known as "The General." He says his father destroyed
bank records to conceal losses of up to $3 million over 10 years.
He filed a lawsuit last month asking a judge to remove his father as
administrator of the family's $8 million partnership. He says in court papers
he filed the suit to prevent his father from being further victimized.
The elder Gottschalk acknowledges losing $900,000 to "some bad
investments" in court papers. He and his attorney accuse Guy Gottschalk of
carrying out an unspecified "vendetta" against his father.
Louis Gottschalk is the founding chairman of the UC Irvine's department of
psychiatry and human behavior. A university medical plaza is named after him.
Here is an URL of where the piece appeared for as long as it is good:
http://www.nbc4.tv/news/7613465/detail.html
********************************************************
27 FEB 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper The Punch:
$242m scam: Nwude appeals against judgment
by Kayode Ketefe
ONE of the three persons convicted for their involvement in the celebrated scam case
on a Brazilian bank, Emmanuel Nwude, has appealled against the judgment of the high
court.
A Lagos High Court, sitting in Ikeja, convicted Nwude and sentenced him to 25 years
imprisonment on November 18, 2005.
Justice Joseph Oyewole, gave the verdict after Nwude pleaded guilty to the amended
12-count charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission.
The convict was also ordered to forfeit 14 real estates he had in London, Lagos, Port
Harcourt, Enuga and Abuja.
He was also to make restitution, among other things, by paying $110 million to the victim
of the crime, the Brazilian banker, Mr. Nelson Sakaguchi.
In his notice of appeal dated December 19, 2005, and filed by his lawyer Mr. Alex Izinyon
(SAN), Nwude is asking the appellate court to quash a part of the judgment forfeited his
property and the part that ordered him to pay $110 million to the victim.
He is contending that the court has no jurisdiction to make the order of forfeiture against
his property and to impose fine on him on the grounds that such decision amounted to
"double jeopardy".
According to him, the Criminal Code under which the charge was preferred did not
empower the judge to make order of forfeiture.
He also faulted the amount of the restitution ($110 million) reasoning that his entire
assets as contained in the Schedule attached to the amended charge, was valued at
$58,901, 097.
The 25 years imprisonment term passed on Nwude, in effect, amounted to five years
since the five separate terms of five years each were made to run concurrently.
*******************************************
24 FEB 2006
Here is a piece from ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper,
on the recent arrests of 419ers in the Netherlands:
12 Nigerians Arrested in Netherlands
DUTCH police have arrested 12 Nigerians in connection with an internet scam that
tricked people into investing in non-existent schemes.
The Nigerians were detained on suspicion of committing fraud or involvement in fraud
in the scheme, which earned them a total $US2 million ($2.7 million).
They were arrested Tuesday after raids on premises in Amsterdam and the central city
of Zaandam, during which police seized €25,000 ($45,000) in cash, computers and fake
travel documents.
Most of the victims of the scam were US citizens. Four of the men detained were
arrested on the request of US authorities, who co-operated on the investigation.
The gang sent some 100,000 emails to potential victims, police said.
Computer users across the world are regularly bombarded by emails from Nigerian
crooks seeking to trick them into handing over bank details or making advance
payments on non-existent money-making schemes. Experts say the so-called "419"
fraudsters - named after the relevant section in Nigeria's criminal code - steal
hundreds of millions of dollars every year from unsuspecting targets.
Here is a link to the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=41500
**********************************************
23 FEB 2006
Here is a translation of a follow up piece on the
arrests of 419ers in Amsterdam, again from the
Dutch newspaper Volksrant:
Nigerian scammers closed down.
de Volkskrant, Economy, Februari 23th 2006 (page 07)
From our reporter Ferry Haan
Background
The American justice asked for the arrest and the extradition of Nigerians setting up
large scale fraud schemes. The Amsterdam police, seventy officers all together,
granted that request.
Dirty money and fake inheritances.
The so called 419 Nigerian scam comes around in many flavours. Most common is a
letter or an e-mail announcing one has won the lottery. Another form is the one in which
one is informed about a big inheritance from a far away family member somewhere in
Africa. Common to all the schemes is the fact that always some kind of advanced fee
has to be paid in order to release the money.
Next step in the process is usually the showing of bank notes that are made black, for
so called 'security reasons'. Upon again the payment of several thousand euros a
special cleaning fluid can be bought.
As a service, the con man offer to clean the money themselves. Upon completion of that
task they will deposit the money in to an account held with a fake bank. The victim is
urged to open that account, which again cost a couples of thousand euros.
Nigerian fraud frequently involves high amounts of money. For that reason experts tent
to call the Nigerian fraud the 'advanced fee scam'. The con man try to hold on to their
victims as long as possible. The process can go on for many years.
Most recent the fraud appears on the internet in chat boxes. In this 'love scam' the con
artist pretends to be a man or a woman, feeling emotionally attracted to the victim, in
desperate need of money to get e.g. goods across the border. 'Especially women fall
massively for this kind of scam', Frank Engelsman says, fraud expert at Ultrascan, an
organization conducting research on a regular basis on Nigerian scams.
'We got hem', is announced on the American US Postal Inspection Service. The
Nigerian Fatai Adebayo Busari was arrested last year. This week the Americans can
add three more names to their leist of captured Nigerian fraudsters: requested by
America the Amsterdam Police arrested twelve suspects. Hopes are high that the
Police department to have hit the Amsterdam Nigerian mafia hard. In and around
Amsterdam another eight hundred Africans are actively engaged in this kind of fraud,
values Frank Engelsman on behalf of the investigation company Ultrascan.
On top of the arrest of twelve of them, the Nigerians will especially be scared off by the
seven American police officers involved in the action. The US Postal Postal Police it not
to be laughed at. They carry fire arms and are for example responsible for the
investigations concerning bomb letters containing Antrax.
The US asked for the extradition of the Nigerians because they swindled Americans by
post for at least USD two million.
The real damage is probably be much higher, Frank Engelsman suspects. He is
shouting for years now that Amsterdam is 'the Lagos of Europe'. According to
Engelsman, at least twelve gangs are operating, from which one has now been closed
down.
The 'Nigerian' or '419'-scam (called according to the Nigerian law against fraud) is
worldwide the most expensive fraud. American authorities budget the damage on at
least USD 750 million yearly.
Engelsman claims that this fraud should be seen as the ''third Nigerian industry. In the
whole of Europe more than ten thousand Nigerians are more or less engaged in this
kind of fraud."
Two years ago the police arrested about 50 Africans having to release them afterward
due to lack of evidence. The spokesman of the Public Prosecutor in Amsterdam
explains that the demands of the courts regarding 419-scam evidence are very high.
The prosecutor has to proof which person was behind the computer when the scam was
executed. 'This is very hard upon entering a house occupied by ten man watching the
Africacup all testifying they know nothing', according to the press officer. On Tuesday
twelve people were arrested on eight locations. To do this seventy inspectors were
needed.
***************************************
22 FEB 2006
Here is a rough translation of a piece from the Dutch
newspaper Volksrant. Pieces on this story appeared
in many major Dutch newspapers:
NIGERIAN FRAUD GANG ARRESTED
Amsterdam - Tuesday morning the Amsterdam Police arrested a gang
of 12 Nigerians who are suspected of fraud. The United States have
asked for extradition of four gangmembers.
In the arrests, spreading over eight addresses in Amsterdam and
Zaandam, the police used 70 officers. There were also seven US
Postal Service Inspection officers present. That agency deals with
mail fraud.
The Nigerians are being susppected of conning their victims out of at
least two million dollars. Most victims come from the US.
Frank Engelsman, frauds specialist at the US company Ultrascan, says
it's great that the Amsterdam Police force finally took some action. He
fears though that the action is but a small achievement in the larger
scale of things. According to him there are still eleven such Nigerian
fraud gangs active in Amsterdam.
The Nigerians sent e-mails and letters to their victims where in was
suggested they got an inheritance from a distant relative or a prize in
a lottery. To collect the money the victims had to send several thousands
of dollars as transaction fees.
The Dutch department of Financial Investigations has worked on this
case since september 2005.
419 Coalition Note: Kudos to the Dutch authorities and also high
marks for the international cooperation in this case. In our experience
the Netherlands has been a hotbed for 419ers for several years now,
with Lottery 419 being a local specialty. In fact, over the last couple
of years, we have seen more 419 solicitations with Dutch phone numbers
on them than those of any other nation, including Nigeria, though the
Dutch based 419ers are of course Nigerians operating primarily from
Amsterdam (though we do not ask for 419 letters etc. to be sent in
to us, we receive them anyway, and that has been the trend in
419 soliciations we have seen over the past few years - a purely
unscientific observation). It is good that the 419ers can no longer
count of having a relatively safe haven in Holland. Now, if the
Dutch will follow up on this success by instituting simplified and
centralized 419 reporting; obtaining the ability to quickly shut
down reported 419 phone numbers; and additional continued attention
to counter-419 operations, they will better able to control the 419
operations emanating from their jurisdiction.
*******************************************
14 FEB 2006
From the Nigerian Newspaper The Register. Also see other
articles on this story in our 16 JAN 2006 News item below
(scroll down):
419er jailed for 376 years
Hard time for $2m scammer
By Lester Haines
A Nigerian 419er was last Friday jailed for 376 years by a Lagos court for "stealing,
forgery, impersonation and conspiracy to obtain money by false pretences" contrary to
the Advance Fee Fraud Act, the Nigerian Daily Independent reports.
Harrison Odiawa, 38, aka Abu Belgori, managed to extract $1,939,710 from US national
George Robert Blake on the promise of a percentage of a bogus $20.45m Ministry of
Health contract. The classic advance fee scam saw a duped Blake transfer the
"advance payments" after seeing forged documents - including a certificate of
registration with the Corporate Affairs Ministry and the aforementioned forged Ministry
contract - which convinced him he was indeed about to get rich. Blake raised the cash
from his company, Quest Exploration and Development, and his own personal assets.
Odiawa was eventually tracked and arrested in Lagos by Economic and Financial
Crime Commission (EFCC) operatives. During his trial, Blake appeared as the star
witness and identified Odiawa from his voice because "because they had
conversations for more than 100 times over the telephone". Odiawa countered that he
was not in fact the person who had scammed the American but rather "chanced on the
telephone number he found on a computer that was not lodged out from the internet in
his cyber café".
Judge Joseph Olubumi Oyewale was unimpressed, and in jailing the 419er on 48 of the
58 counts on which he was charged, also ordered him to pay back $1.6m to his victim.
He said he hoped the sentence would serve as a deterrent to others.
Blake has already served a 30-month jail sentence in the US for money laundering and
bank wire offences.
419 Coaliton note: The sentences on the various counts are
to be served concurrently, which means that the actual time
served by Odiawawill be 12 years maximum.
**************************************
14 FEB 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper ThisDay
Court Acquits, Discharges 419 Suspect
By Abimbola Akosile,
Two years after his arrest by officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), an Ikeja High Court Judge, Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, yesterday
faulted the prosecution's case, and went ahead to discharge and acquit a 22-year-old
advance fee fraud suspect, Mr Fasade Tomide, of both counts of conspiracy and
obtaining goods by false pretence.
Oyewole, who ironically had received three death threat letters from suspected '419'
practitioners (between November 2005 to January 2006), said he could not find any
sufficient evidence upon which the accused could be convicted for attempt to commit
the offences alleged against him, and also identified several defects and obvious
inconsistencies in the testimonies of prosecution witnesses.
Tomide, alias Mike Cole, arraigned before the court on October 22, 2004, on a two-count
charge, was alleged to have conspired on April 20, 2004, with one Seun Cole (now at
large), to obtain goods by false pretences from Thill Track & Tractor Service, based in
the United States of America through the internet; and obtained a parcel containing
tractor spare parts valued at $7,900.00, approximately N1,106,000.00 from the company.
After a trial which began, on January 12, 2005 with four prosecution witnesses called,
Oyewole said there was a fallacy on the accused's alleged confessional statement,
which proved fatal to the prosecution's case.
"It is a deficiency engendered by ignorance of investigators, which has set limitations on
such assumptions. I am unable to hold that the said confession is true and cannot make
a finding that the accused person is the Mike Cole being sought for the alleged fraud.
Prosecution has failed to establish the charge of obtaining goods by false pretences as
laid against the accused person in count 2.
He is, therefore, discharged and acquitted on that count. Prosecution also failed to
establish the count on conspiracy, and as such the accused is equally discharged and
acquitted on count 1.
In conclusion, I hold that the prosecution has failed to prove each of the counts of
offences alleged against the accused person beyond reasonable doubt, and I
therefore discharge and acquit him accordingly," Oyewole ruled.
The Nigerian newspapers Punch and Guardian, among others,
also covered this story.
*******************************************
14 FEB 2006
Here's a cautionary piece on this Valentine's Day from
the Nigerian newspaper The Daily Sun:
Trans-Atlantic love costs American lady $50,000 -
Duped by Nigerian fraudster
By JULIANA FRANCIS
A 42-year-old American lady, who came to Nigeria from Texas, United States, with her
wedding accessories to tie the nuptial knot with a supposed male American Muslim she
met on the internet has gone back home heartbroken.
This followed the discovery that the man she had travelled to Africa to be joined to in
wedlock was not the one in the photograph sent to her, but a 24-year-old Nigerian
posing as an expatriate engineer, working in an oil company.
The victim, Thumbelina Henshaw, a Muslim, did not only lose her heart to the fraudster
but also lost more than 50,000 dollars, as well as several gift items she had been
sending to the con man through courier services.
When Henshaw met the fraudster identified as Abdulakeem Yekini, rather than yell at
him for fooling her, she was said to have calmly handed him a copy of the Holy Quran
and told him to seek Allah’s forgiveness. Already, Yekini has become a guest of the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
One of the precious things Henshaw salvaged from the relationship was a 20,000
dollars worth of jewelry she brought to Nigeria. She had initially planned to present it to
her heart-throb and his Muslim brothers to sell and then add the proceeds to the funds
for the wedding preparation.
Daily Sun gathered that Yekini allegedly found Henshaw, a nurse, on a website for
singles and began to chat her up.
Within a few days of chatting, Yekini knew the lady was a dedicated Muslim and
decided to use her religion to ensnare her. He told her he was a staunch Muslim named
William Phillips, an American, working in an oil company in Nigeria.
Yekini further told Henshaw that he has two children, named Hakim and Jane.
Pretending to be Phillips, he also said his wife died in an automobile accident. The
fraudster finally hoodwinked her when he told Henshaw he loved her and was looking
for a dedicated Muslim wife, who would be a mother to his children.
When Henshaw asked him to send his picture, Yekini downloaded a white man’s picture
from the internet and forwarded it to her. The chatting, which started in June 2005,
snowballed into talks about marriage.
In the course of the discussions, Yekini told the lovesick woman that the mosque he
attends in Nigeria needed renovation and that good Muslims were contributing funds
towards the repairs. He also introduced her to the Imam at the non-existent mosque. But
operatives of the EFCC believe that Yekini was also the person posing as Imam and
chatting with Henshaw on the internet. When Yekini told Henshaw that the mosque was
where they would get married when she comes to Nigeria, she immediately sent him
1,500 dollars. After sending the first dollars, Henshaw continued sending more money
whenever Yekini told her about any Muslim project. Aside from the money, she never
relented in sending valuable items.
To further fool her into believing his lies, Yekini said he would be coming home to
America. Trying to assist him in reducing cost, Henshaw sent a return ticket to Nigeria for
him at 1,700 dollars, but he never showed up. When Henshaw said she would like to
come to Nigeria for the wedding as agreed, Yekini asked for postponement of the
ceremony, claiming he needed urgently to go to Liberia for a job.
After two postponements of the wedding, Henshaw felt it was better to just come to
Nigeria herself for the wedding. She went shopping. She called the Imam and told him
she was coming to Nigeria.
She met another Muslim on the flight to Nigeria and became friendly with him. She told
him her story and he hinted her that she could be dealing with fraudsters. They had
contacted EFCC, which agreed to set a trap for the fraudster.
Having arrived Nigeria, December 2, 2005, she called Yekini and asked him to come to
a hotel in Ikeja. A trap was set for Yekini, who came, thinking he could still deceive the
woman.
When it dawned on him that he had walked into a trap, he tried to jump a fence, but
EFCC operatives caught him. Recovered from him was a cellular phone that Henshaw
identified as one of the items she sent to the supposed American, called William
Phillips.
The EFCC spokesman, Mr Osita Nwajah, told Daily Sun that the suspect would soon be
charged to court.
He said: "We are sure to get a clean conviction."
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2006/feb/14/national%20-14-02-2006-001. htm
*******************************************************
30 JAN 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper The Guardian:
EFCC begins sale of fraud convicts' property
By Emmanuel Badejo
THE multi-million naira houses of three Nigerians, who were convicted two months ago
for defrauding a Brazilian bank of $242 million, are now being sold to indemnify the
judgment sum against them.
The convicts are Chief Emmanuel Nwude, Nzeribe Okolo and Mrs. Matina Amaka
Anajemba.
Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of a Lagos High Court, two months ago, brought to an end
the celebrated fraud trial, sentencing Nwude and Okolo to a total of 37 years
imprisonment.
Besides, the convicts are to forfeit a total of $121.5 million, including all their property,
both home and abroad to the Brazilian bank and the Federal Government.
The third convict, Anajemba, had on July 16, 2005 pleaded guilty to the charges against
her. She forfeited N32 billion both in cash and assets and was sentenced to two and half
years imprisonment.
But for Nwude and Okolo, their trial went sour when EFCC brought the former Managing
Director of Banco, Noroaster Sa (the bank that was defrauded) Mr. Nelson Sakaguchi.
Subsequently, a plea-bargaining was reached with the prosecutor, the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). This led to the accused pleading guilty for a light
sentence in addition to forfeiting all their known assets.
About 34 property are being offered to buyers by the EFCC.
One common feature of these property is that they are located at highbrow areas and
commercial centres in the country. They also run into billions of naira.
The Guardian learnt that a popular petroleum dealer and Chief Executive Officer of
Zenon Petroleum, Femi Otedola, might have purchased one of the property situated at
1, Copper Road, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Though this was not confirmed, The Guardian's visit to the Copper Street revealed that
the firm has taken possession of the building and re-christened it Zenon Towers.
********************************************
26 JAN 2006
From the Nigeran newspaper the Daily Sun:
INTERNET RAT: They conned an American lady, using marriage as bait
By Juliana Francis
A joint effort by Nigeria and American authorities has ended the pranks of three Nigerian
boys, who were defrauding Americans on the Internet.
The syndicate comprised Michael Evbowera, 21, Mark Paul Udoh 16 and William
Emery, who allegedly swindled an American woman of 3000 dollars and a laptop
computer.
Investigations between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have also revealed that the boys sent over one
million fraudulent cheques and money orders to different people in the United States, for
the shipment of goods.
Posing as a working class man looking for a potential wife, Emery surfed the net and
found Shirley Garza. After chatting a couple of times with her, he had told her he loved
her and proposed to marry her. Garza, said to be in her mid-30s was said to have fallen
for the ruse. She started sending money whenever Emery asked for assistance as an
expression of her love.
The scales, however, fell off her eyes when Emery asked her to send a laptop to him.
He promised to send her money for it. He further instructed her to write Adesola Joseph
as the sender. When she asked him why Adesola, he reportedly said: " Courier
companies no longer send goods bearing foreign names to the owners."
Thinking she was dealing with a genuine person, Garza sent the laptop but she later
discovered that the information on the credit card he sent her was forged. Suspecting
foul play, she ran to the FBI in Louisville, Kentucky and they contacted those in Nigeria.
Soon the story got to Mr. Mark, the legal attaché of the United States consulate in Lagos.
Mark alerted EFCC, which immediately started investigation. Garza was instructed by
the agencies to play along with the fraudsters.
Daily Sun gathered that for three weeks after the laptop arrived Nigeria, the smart alecs
didn’t surface to pick it. And for those three weeks, operatives lay in wait, knowing it was
only a matter of time.
Trying to make sure they had not been discovered, Emery called Garza.
A source said: " He told her that he heard policemen were at the courier company, that
maybe she alerted them. She denied it. He later went with Mark Paul Udoh to collect the
laptop. They were arrested as they were collecting it."
EFCC had since searched their home and discovered that the three youngsters live
together. Recovered from them were countless numbers of fake cheques, postal orders
and money orders. The boys have admitted contributing money each to purchase the
fake cheques and money orders. Emery contributed N8000, Mark Paul Udoh N2000
and Michael N3000. They further said that the seller was one Mike, a Ghanaian, they met
on line. Whenever they needed the cheque or money order, they would all meet at a
designated place in Sango Ota, in Ogun State.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/crimewatch/2006/jan/26/crimewatch-26-01-200 6-001.htm
*************************************************
25 JAN 2006
BlackPressUSA.com has a good article on Lottery 419.
Here is the URL for as long as it is good:
http://www.blackpressusa.com/News/Article.asp?SID=3&Title=National+News&NewsID=6090
We'd post it up but they have a block on copying their
articles, so one has to go to the site to read the piece.
************************************
16 JAN 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper, Daily Independent:
Man jailed 376 years for defrauding American of $1.9m
By Victor Efeizomor, Law Reporter
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) recorded another major victory
last Friday when a Lagos High Court, Ikeja, sentenced a middle-aged man to 376 years
imprisonment for defrauding an American national of about $1.9 million.
The Presiding Judge, Justice Joseph Olubumi Oyewale, while delivering his judgment
also ordered Harrison Odiawa, (alias Abu Belgori) to refund the sum of $1.6million to the
victim, George Robert Blake, saying that the prosecution (EFCC) proved its case
beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the crime as charged.
He said he believed the testimony of the star prosecution witness (George Robert
Blake) because"he was sober, candid, and truthful and was not in doubt."
He said the jail term would run currently starting from the date the convict (Odiawa) was
remanded in prison custody. He said Odiawa’s predicament stemmed out of the desire
to lead a life on the "fast track" and should serve as a deterrent to others.
Odiawa, 38, was slammed with a 58- count criminal charge of stealing, forgery,
impersonation and conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence contrary to Advance
Fee Fraud Act, soon after he was trailed and arrested by EFCC operatives in Ikeja,
Lagos for scamming an American national, Mr. George Robert Blake of no less than
$1,939,710 in 2003.
Justice Oyewale discharged Odiawa of 10 count charges and sentenced him on the
remaining 48 count charges, saying that during the trail, the prosecution called eight
witnesses and tendered 120 exhibits to proof their case while the defense brought three
witnesses and paraded 25 exhibits to close their case.
Blake, who has served a 30 month jail term in America for money laundering and bank
wiring, during his evidence in chief, told the court that Harrison Odiawa, alias Abu
Belgori, lured him to a $20.45 million bogus contract in Nigeria where he was made to
wire about $1,939,710 in several trenches into Nigeria as advance payments.
He told the court that he identified Odiawa from his voice because they have had
conversations for more than 100 times over the telephone and that all the documents
sent to him was done through fax and emails while the transaction lasted.
In his defense, Odiawa told the court he was innocent of the charges brought against him
because he was the not the actual person that scammed George Robert Blake, arguing
that he only chanced on the telephone number he found on a computer that was not
lodged out from the inter net in his cyber café.’
Here is a link to the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.independentng.com/news/nnjan160607.htm
Other major Nigerian papers including ThisDay and The Guardian
also covered the story, here is a link to the ThisDay article for as
long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=38246
Here is a link to a later piece done on this story in the
Nigerian newspaper Daily Sun for as long as it is good:
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2006/feb/13/national%20-13-02-2006-010. htm
419 Coalition Note: 419 Coalition thanks Nuhu Ribadu, Ibrahim
Lamorde, Rotimi Jacobs, and the rest of the EFCC for their hard
work and excellent performance in bringing this 419er to justice
and stripping him of his stolen money.
********************************************
10 JAN 2006
From the Nigerian newspaper, the Saturday Punch:
Czech murderer of Nigerian consul freed on health grounds
A 74-year-old former Czech army doctor, imprisoned for five years for
killing the Nigerian consul in Prague in 2003, will not serve out the
sentence because of his poor health, Prague court officials decided on
Monday.
Jiri Pasovsky, who shot dead consul Michael Lekara Wayid and
injured another embassy employee after falling victim to a financial
scam, is suffering from cancer and other illnesses, his lawyer, Klara
Samkova, said.
He heard the court verdict lying down and spoke a few barely audible
words.
Pasovsky said he shot the consul following financial transactions with
Nigeria which eventually cost him around 15 million koruna (510,000
euros).
He received an eight-year jail sentence in June, last year. This was cut
on appeal to five years.
The former doctor worked at the end of the 1960s as an agent of the
former communist secret police, the StB (Statni Bezpecnost) and at the
time even infiltrated the US Central Intelligence Agency, according to
one of the main Czech dailies, Mlada Fronta Dnes.
While working with the Czechoslovak mission in Kabul, Pasovsky was
mainly responsible for reporting on the activities of the local U.S
embassy.
He also denounced some of his compatriots who wanted to defect
abroad, the daily said.
The decision of the public prosecutor to dispense with Pasovsky's jail
sentence confirms a ruling by a Prague city court last week.
************************************************
5 JAN 2006
From the Belgian Police site, they have arrested a
group of 419ers. The article is in Dutch, with an English
translation following:
Nigeriaanse oplichtersbende opgerold
Oplichters bouwen bureau om tot bankkantoor
GENT 05/01/2006. - De Gerechtelijke Dienst van het Arrondissement
(GDA) Gent heeft 4 leden van een internationale oplichtersbende
opgepakt.
De vier verdachten, allen van Nigeriaanse origine, lieten hun slachtoffers
via brief of e-mail geloven dat ze een grote som geld
hadden geërfd. Om deze erfenis vrij te maken, moesten de slachtoffers
eerst allerlei kosten betalen, maar dit geld zagen ze nooit meer terug.
De bende maakte slachtoffers in België, de Verenigde Staten, Canada,
Zwitserland, het Verenigd Koninkrijk en Liechtenstein.
Eén van de verdachten, een zaakvoerder uit de rand van Gent, is nog
steeds aangehouden.
Tweedehandswagens
De speurders kwamen de oplichterbende op het spoor via een
zaakvoerder uit de rand van Gent die handelde in
tweedehandswagens. Ze ontdekten dat er vanuit het buitenland grote
sommen geld werden gestort op zijn rekening. Deze bedragen waren
helemaal niet in verhouding tot de kleine omzet van zijn zaak. Na enig
onderzoek bleek dit geld afkomstig te zijn van slachtoffers van de
zogenaamde 419-fraude (Advance Fee Fraud).
Begin juni 2005 werd de zaakvoerder samen met twee kompanen uit
Gent aangehouden.
In november 2005 pakten de speurders ook nog een vierde verdachte
op toen bleek dat via binnen- en buitenlandse rekeningen van de
zaakvoerder voor meer dan 2 miljoen Euro werd witgewassen.
Twee keer opgelicht
De oplichters stelden alles in het werk om hun slachtoffers te laten
geloven dat ze oprechte bedoelingen hadden. Sommige slachtoffers
werden zelfs uitgenodigd om in een bankgebouw in Gent of Amsterdam
documenten te gaan tekenen. Daar bouwden de oplichters een
willekeurig bureau om tot een bankkantoor of deden ze zich voor als
werknemers van een echt bankkantoor.
Op het ogenblik dat de slachtoffers een vermoeden hadden van de
oplichting, werden ze benaderd door zogenaamde "security-
bedrijven" uit Nederland. Die beloofden de zaak voor hen uit te klaren
tegen een bepaalde kost. Achteraf bleek dat ook deze bedrijven niet
bestonden en gewoon deel uitmaakten van de criminele organisatie.
Erfenissen, vermogens, valse cheques
De oplichters probeerden hun slachtoffers op verschillende manieren
te misleiden. Sommigen kregen te horen dat ze een grote som geld
hadden geërfd, anderen werd voorgesteld om het vermogen van een
overleden Afrikaanse weldoener te beheren. Ook hier bleek er geen
geld of Afrikaanse weldoener te bestaan.
Een Belgisch slachtoffer kreeg dan weer een cheque toegestuurd met
het verzoek deze op zijn rekening te plaatsen en het bedrag, min een
kleine commissie, onmiddellijk over te maken naar het buitenland.
Achteraf bleek de cheque vals te zijn en was het geld al cash van de
rekening in het buitenland gehaald.
Preventie
De Federale Politie vraagt iedereen om zeer voorzichtig te zijn
wanneer ze per post of
e-mail worden benaderd in verband met:
* erfenissen van onbekende familieleden;
* lottowinsten in het buitenland waar u nooit aan deelnam;
* beheer van vermogens of nalatenschappen in het buitenland.
Maak in zo’n gevallen nooit geld over om zogezegde kosten te
betalen. Geef ook geen persoonlijke gegevens zoals kopies van
identiteitskaarten, paspoorten, bankkaarten, ...
Laat uw rekening ook niet gebruiken om cheques van onbekende te
incasseren.
Indien u slachtoffer bent van een soortgelijke oplichting, leg dan zo snel
mogelijk klacht neer bij de politie.
Meer informatie omtrent deze en andere vormen van oplichting via
internet en meer preventietips, vindt u op www.fedpol.be.
Here is a link to the piece:
http://www.fccu.be/police/fedpol/nieuws/detail.php?recordID=903
Here is the English translation:
Nigerian swindlers gang rounded up
Swindlers restyle office room as bank office
Gent 2006/01/05 - The Judicial Service of the Arrondissement Gent
(GDA) has arrested 4 members of an international swindlers gang.
The four suspects, all of Nigerian origin, made their victims believe
via letters or email that they had inherited a large sum of money. To
obtain this inheritance, the victims first had to pay all sorts of
costs, but they never got any of this money back. The gang made
victims in Belgium, the United States, Canada, Switzerland, the
United Kingdom and Lichtenstein. One of the suspects, a business
owner from the outskirts of Gent, remains apprehended.
Second hand cars
The detectives discovered the swindlers gang via a business owner
from the outskirts of Gent who bought and sold second hand cars. They
discovered that large sums of money were transfered to his account
from abroad. These amounts were not proportionate at all compared to
the small turnover of his business. After some investigation it
turned out this money came from victims of the so-called 419 fraud
(Advance Fee Fraud). At the start of June 2005 the business owner was
arrested along with two accomplices from Gent.
In November 2005 the detectives also arrested a fourth suspect when
it turned out that, using domestic and foreign bank accounts of the
business owner, more than 2 million Euro was laundered.
Cheated twice
The swindlers did everything in their power to make their victims
believe they were honest. Some victims were even invited to come and
sign documents in a bank office in Gent or Amsterdam. There the
swindlers restyled a random office into a bank office, or the
pretended to be employees of a real bank office.
If victims started to suspect they were being cheated, they were
approached by so-called "security companies" from the Netherlands.
They promised to sort out everything in exchange for a sum of money.
Afterwards it turned out these companies did not exist and just were
part of the criminal organisation.
Inheritances, assets, counterfeit cheques
The swindlers tried to deceive their victims in various ways. Some
were told that they had inherited a large sum of money, others were
proposed to manage the assets of a deceased African benefactor. Also
in these cases it turned out there was no money or African benefactor.
A Belgian victim was sent a cheque with the request to cash it in on
his account and to transfer the sum, minus a small commission,
immediately to a foreign country. Afterwards the cheque turned out to
be counterfeit and the money was already withdrawn in cash from the
foreign account.
Prevention
The Federal Police asks everyone to be very careful when they are
contacted by postal mail or by email regarding:
* inheritances of unknown family members;
* lottery winnings in foreign countries in which you never participated;
* managing assets or inheritances in foreign countries.
In such cases, never transfer money to pay for so-called costs. Also
do not provide personal data such as copies of id cards, passports,
bank cards, ... Neither allow the usage of your account to cash in
cheques of strangers.
If you are a victim of a similar swindle, press charges with the
police as soon as possible.
More information regarding this and other forms of swindling via the
Internet and more prevention tips, can be found at www.fedpol.be.
**********************************
4 JAN 2006
From The Punch, a Nigerian newspaper:
Cyber fraud leads to blockage of Nigeria’s IP address
by Omolola Awe
President Olusegun Obasanjo’s war against corruption has once again been dealt
another blow. The war, which has swept many serving government officials out of office,
seems to be having no effect at the cyber fraud level.
This is because the biggest domain registrar in the world, Go Daddy Software Inc.,
owners of the web domain www.godaddy.com, where individuals can buy packages of
web domains and resell to other individuals willing to own their web addresses, has
blocked Nigeria’s Internet Protocol address.
Go Daddy has therefore blocked access to its website from Nigeria, and all those who
bought packages of web domains from the domain registrar, thereby registering their
website with it, have also been denied access to their websites.
The company took this decision based on a survey carried out by its fraud department,
which identified Nigeria as a country where there was a high incidence of fraud.
The development came to the notice of a domain registrar in Nigeria, Mr. Deji
Onigbinde, who buys .com, .net, and .org domain sites here in Nigeria from the United
States-based Go Daddy and resells to Nigerians who desire to own their own web
pages.
According to Onigbinde, he tried to access Go Daddy website with no luck throughout
Monday, December 26, despite the fact that the site server was on.
A call to the Customer Care Department of Go Daddy Software Inc. confirmed
Onigbinde’s fears that probably Nigeria’s Internet Protocol address could have been
blocked.
A discussion on phone with an unidentified staff of the Customer Support Department
confirmed to him that the US Government had added Nigeria to a list of countries not to
do business with and that the ban could take a year or more to expire. A mail was sent to
him the following day, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent to
further confirm this.
The mail read, "The United States Government asks that we do not conduct business
with these nations: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, Syria and Nigeria. If your
credit card is issued from an establishment located within one of these countries, or if
you reside in one of these countries, you will not be able to complete a purchase from
our website or access our network. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may
cause."
Nick White, a member of the Reseller Support Department, signed the mail, which was
sent from support@secureserver.net.
A mail to this address however denied the initial assertion that the United States
Government did not encourage it to conduct business with Nigeria but rather that it was
due to a high rate of fraud in the country.
The mail sent by our correspondent was replied by one Amber, B. of the Customers
Service Department of Go Daddy Software Inc. It stated, "This country is not listed as
one that the US Government has asked that we do not do business with. Our Fraud
Department identified Nigeria as a country where there was a high incidence of fraud.
Because of this, we had to block access to our site from this country. We can cancel and
refund any services, or help you move your services elsewhere."
Registering a domain name requires registration with either an accredited domain
registrar like Go Daddy or with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers, the body responsible for managing and coordinating the Domain Name
System, to ensure that every address is unique and that all users of the Internet can find
all valid addresses.
Individuals however prefer to use accredited domain registrars because their services
are cheaper than that of ICANN.
Internet service providers register directly with ICANN. This, perhaps, may be the
reason the Corporate Affairs Manager of Linkserve Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Ufuoma Daro,
said that the services the company rendered to its customers had not been affected in
anyway.
The interesting thing is that someone from an unblocked country can access these
websites.
Interestingly too, figures obtained from the US Internet Fraud Centre rate America as the
country with the highest rate of Internet fraud.
Onigbinde explained, "A domain registrar can block the IP addresses of countries that it
gets high cases of fraud from. But this is usually resolved by not accepting its credit
cards for a while but not by entirely refusing access to its websites."
He further argued that the registrar had already collected money for the sale of domain
from its customers and cutting them off from managing their domains, Onigbinde says,
can be likened to theft; but a theft done in retaliation to another theft, done on a large
scale.
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**********************************
**********************************
31 DEC 2005
From the Satrurday Punch, a Nigerian newspaper:
EFCC prosecutes 78 over multiple fraud
No fewer than 78 suspects are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission for their alleged involvement in various economic crimes, including two
separate scams valued at N58 million and $15 million respectively.
The suspects, according to Saturday Punch’s investigations, were allegedly linked to
felonies such as stealing, obtaining money under false pretences and conspiracy.
The suspects are among hundreds being investigated over fraudulent acts and are
facing charges at courts in Lagos, Kaduna and Benin.
A senior official of the commission said that 51 of the suspects were facing their charges
in Lagos, 18 in Kaduna, and the rest in Benin, adding that the sums had been recovered
from them.
Our correspondent also learnt that two of the suspects had been convicted but had
gone on appeal. Another EFCC official told our correspondent that the agency had
adopted fast-track prosecution of suspects, to avoid complaints over delayed trial.
Commenting on the matter, EFCC’s Head of Media, Mr. Osita Nwaja, said the agency
would follow due process in the prosecution of the cases, adding that the suspects
would be given the chance to "defend themselves while we produce our own evidence."
**************************************************************
25 DEC 2005
From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Woman loses $9,200 in Nigerian e-mail scam
by Ian Katz
For Gerri Tennenbaum, it was a "vulnerable moment" when she trusted someone she
thought of as a friend. Now, the victim of an elaborate counterfeiting scheme, she might
be out $9,200, her rental apartment and any hope of getting Hanukkah gifts for her two
children.
A divorced schoolteacher struggling to raise her 9- and 12-year-old boys -- both of
whom are mildly autistic -- Tennenbaum was feeling frazzled in early November by eight
days without electricity after Hurricane Wilma.
She had been chatting online several nights a week for two months with a man who
called himself Eddie Smith, a U.S. citizen working as a geologist and computer
engineer in Nigeria. They met through a dating site and communicated via Yahoo's
instant messenger service about work, life and the possibility of eventually meeting in
person.
On Nov. 2, near the end of a long chat, Smith asked Tennenbaum what seemed to her a
simple favor: If he sent some travelers checks and money orders that he couldn't cash
in Nigeria, could she deposit them into her bank account and send him the cash through
Western Union? She obliged, figuring MasterCard travelers checks and U.S. Postal
Service money orders must be safe.
What she didn't know is that Smith, which is probably not his real name, was cleverly
manipulating her for his gain.
It was an example of an increasingly common scheme in which Nigerian fraudsters
befriend people in dating sites and chat rooms, and persuade them to send cash in
exchange for money orders or travelers checks that turn out to be fake. When the victims
learn that the checks are phony, it's too late, and thousands of dollars have already
been sent to the "friend."
Tennenbaum's bank, Citibank, told her that the $9,200 in checks and money orders she
exchanged there were counterfeit and that she is responsible for repaying the bank.
"I have nothing," said Tennenbaum, 44, who teaches second grade. "I'm a smart
person, but I had a vulnerable moment and got suckered. I thought I was doing
somebody a favor."
Tennenbaum was unable to pay the $930 monthly rent on her apartment on time and
received a note from the manager that she could be evicted. "Every time I come home, I
peek around the corner to see if there is a notice on my door," she said.
Through tears, she added: "I feel like I didn't do my job as a parent because I got
sucked in."
To recoup its losses, Citibank took a direct-deposit paycheck and other money in her
account totaling $1,788, she said.
Though she admits she shouldn't have been so trusting, Tennenbaum also blames the
bank for not recognizing that the money orders and travelers checks she cashed were
fakes. "I'm holding the bag for something the bank should have caught," she said.
Eight days passed before she could see from her account that the checks were not
valid, she said.
In an e-mail, Citibank spokesman Mark Rodgers wrote: "It is unfortunate that Ms.
Tennenbaum was defrauded. However, customers are liable for the soundness of
checks and other instruments that they deposit." If a check is counterfeit, "it is the
customer, not the bank, who is responsible," he said.
Any offer from Nigeria should raise a red flag, said Allen Lowe, an expert on Nigerian
fraud and assistant to the special agent in charge at the U.S. Secret Service Miami field
office. "We don't consider all Nigerians to be bad or crooks," but the Internet is teeming
with Nigerian fraudsters, he said.
Typically, they send an unsolicited e-mail promising to pay the recipient millions of
dollars in exchange for parking a larger amount of money in a U.S. bank account. In
these so-called advance-fee scams, the victim is told to pay hundreds or thousands of
dollars before getting the big payout.
But in Tennenbaum's case, greed was not a factor. In fact, Smith worked for two months
to gain Tennenbaum's trust before typing: "can u help me cash money orders baby."
Catching foreign fraudsters overseas is extremely difficult, in part because they never
give their real names, Lowe said.
Cybercrime experts like Lowe say victims are often intelligent and well-educated. That's
little consolation to Tennenbaum, who has Florida certification in elementary, early and
primary education, and in English as a second language.
"I'm not sleeping at all," she said. "I am constantly stressed."
*********************************************
3 DEC 2005
From The Punch ("The Saturday Punch"), a Nigerian
newspaper:
Four foreigners lose $ 18, 800 to ‘EFCC chairman’
Sesan Olufowobi
A man, who allegedly duped four persons of $18,800 by parading
himself as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, has been arrested by operatives of the agency.
Saturday Punch gathered that the 30-year-old man identified as Anslem
Nnabuugha Afam allegedly created a website with EFCC’s logo as well
as the name and pictures of the commission’s Chairman, Mr. Nuhu
Ribadu.
Findings by our correspondent revealed that Afam posted a "To whom
it may concern letter" on his site, urging foreign contractors owed by
Nigeria to contact him on a phone number listed on the site to discuss
how they would be paid. He also stated that they would be required to
obtain an EFCC affidavit of claims certificate from the "Lagos State High
Court Commission."
To process the claims and obtain the affidavit of claims, however, the
contractors were required to pay $4, 700 each. It was learnt that at least
four persons fell victim of the scam before he was caught.
An EFCC official told our correspondent that the commission stumbled
on the site and succeeded in tracking him down.
"He had some of his education abroad and I think this gave him some
advantage in knowing how to trick foreigners, especially in the United
States," the official said.
Afam also told interrogators that he had defrauded only four persons so
far, adding that he had not been in the business for long.
Saturday Punch also gathered that the commission was still
investigating his claims to ascertain whether there were more victims,
adding that officials of a Nigerian bank, which the suspect used to
transfer money, were also being questioned.
Head of EFCC’s Lagos Office and Director of Operations, Alhaji Ibrahim
Lamorde, confirmed the arrest and stated that the matter was being
investigated.
************************************
30 NOV 2005
There were a couple of articles on 419 Dutch newspaper
Volksrant recently, here is a short one translated into English
for us by Ultrascan:
Amsterdam Centre of Nigerian Fraud
By our reporter Ferry Haan
AMSTERDAM - Amsterdam is the European Centre for Nigerian gangs
who are scamming hundreds of foreigners out of tens of millions Euros.
To counter act these actions the Amsterdam police reports that they are
setting up a central point where victims can report the crimes that were
committed against them.
Rene van der Wouw, detective for the Amsterdam police states that the
central point will be a great progress in the fight against these criminals.
He acknowledges that the Amsterdam police will not act on every report
they get about these scams. "It is costing us too much capacity,"according
to Van der Wouw.
The police is trying to tackle these gangs via their internet providers,
but those providers have to cooperate in order to get those guys. The
Nigerian gangs are sending thousands of e-mails a day from Amsterdam, in
which they are trying to contact potential victims. Often they are lured
to Amsterdam with promises of loads of gold (and/or money), where they are
then scammed out of their money.
When Dutch people are being scammed, it often happens from Madrid,
another European centre where these gangs operate.
At least once a year the police tries to get several scammers caught,
according to Van der Wouw. With this action the police is trying to
prevent that ‘Amsterdam becomes a free haven’. (for scammers)
Two years ago, 53 Nigerians were caught in Amsterdam. Only one person
was convicted, the rest was free to go ‘home’ (and continue their actions).
American fraud specialist Brian Wizard, is warning that the worldwide
attention for Nigerians is declining. "In the US there used to be 350
detectives working in the anti-fraud field, now the fight against terrorism
is more important," he said.
**********************
28 NOV 2005
From The Punch, a Nigerian newspaper:
Bill wants banks shut for money laundering, 419
Ibanga Isine, Abuja
If a bill seeking the repeal of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Related Offences Act
sails through in the National Assembly, banks and any other financial institutions found
guilty of aiding money laundering and advance fee fraud (419) would be wound up.
Known as the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud -related Offences bill 2005, it also
seeks a 20-year jail term, without an option of fine, for anyone convicted of 419.
It was gathered that the bill, a copy of which was obtained on Sunday by our
correspondent, was sent to the National Assembly shortly after the Bayelsa State
Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, was arrested in London over charges of
money laundering.
Section 10 of the proposed law reads, "Where an offence under this bill which has been
committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed on the instigation or
with the connivance of or attributable to any neglect on the part of a director, manager,
secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or any person purporting to act in
any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate, where practicable, shall be
deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be prosecuted and punished
accordingly."
"Where a body corporate is convicted of an offence under this bill, the court may order
that the body corporate shall thereupon and without any further assurance, but for such
order, be wound up and all its assets and properties forfeited to the Federal
Government."
The bill also wants the courts to be empowered to, in addition to prescribed penalties,
order convicted persons to make restitution to victims of fraud through the payment of
amount equivalent to the loss they sustained.
Where the transaction involves a property, the bill provides that a property of equal
value be retuned to the victim or a person designated by him.
The possession of pecuniary resources or property for which a fraudster could not
account for and which is disproportionate to his known income could be used to
corroborate the testimony of a witness during trial under the proposed law.
Section 7, sub-section 2 (b) of the bill prescribes a 10-year term for persons involved in
laundering of funds.
Persons involved in unlawful transportation of monetary instrument or funds from the
country or outside it, risk 10-year imprisonment or a fine of N500,000 or twice the value of
the amount involved or both.
Also under the bill, a person or persons who with an intent to defraud, produces from a
piece of paper or from any other material, any currency note by washing, dipping and
treating the paper with a chemical substance would be liable to more than 15 years
imprisonment on conviction.
Individuals or institutions involved in the provision of telecommunications or Internet
services are expected to register such businesses with the EFCC and maintain a
register of all fixed-line customers, which may be inspected from time-to-time.
The bill also makes it compulsory for persons involved in electronic communication
businesses or Internet services to obtain the full names, residential or corporate
addresses of their customers.
They must give such information to the EFCC on demand.
*********************************************
23 NOV 2005
From the Associated Press:
NIGERIA: Financial crimes agency returns millions to Brazilian bank
ABUJA, 23 Nov 2005 (IRIN) - Nigeria’s financial crimes agency has returned US $17
million to a Brazilian bank - the first installment of $242 million siphoned by scammerls said.
The swin - ch led to the bank’s collapse - marks one of the biggest cases of 419
fraud that government officials have cracked.
Nigeria has become notorious for fraudsters who pitch bogus schemes to entice people
to part with large sums of money in expectation of higher returns. The scams are known
as 419 deals, named for the section of the country’s legal code that forbids such crimes.
On Monday, the head of Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),
Nuhu Ribadu, made the refund of US $17 million to William Richey, a lawyer
representing the defunct Banco Noroeste of Sao Paolo, Brazil.
"By making this restitution to the victim of the scam we also want to send a strong,
unequivocal message that we will no longer harbour such fraudulently acquired funds
no matter where the victim is," Ribadu said in the statement.
Ribadu said more money recovered from three Nigerians convicted of the scam would
eventually be returned to the bank.
Emmanuel Nwude and Nzeribe Okoli were convicted on Friday by a high court in Lagos
for their role in the scam. Nwude got a 35-year jail term while Okoli was sentenced to 12
years. They are also to forfeit assets worth more than US $121 million.
A third Nigerian, housewife Amaka Anajemba, was convicted in July and jailed for two
and a half years. Anajemba was also ordered by the court to give up cash and assets
of over $48 million, including houses in Nigeria, the United States and Switzerland.
Convictions in the Brazilian bank case represent the government’s most significant
victory against fraud thus far.
Nigerian security agencies have redoubled efforts to combat such scams under
President Olusegun Obasanjo, who has long pledged to tackle the rampant fraud that
flourished in the country’s long period of corrupt military rule.
Prosecutors alleged that those convicted were part of a fraud ring, including
Anajemba’s late husband, that tricked a top official of the Brazilian bank into transferring
funds between 1996 and 2001 into various bank accounts around the world on the
promise he would earn a $13.4 million kickback from a fictitious airport contract.
419 Coaltion Comment: Kudos to the EFCC, it is good to see that
funds are being repatriated in this case. $17 million on the way back,
which is in itself Very significant, of course, leaving $225 million for
future repatriation.
*******************************************************
21 NOV 2005
From Vanguard, a Nigerian newspaper:
$242m scam: Nwude strikes deal, surrenders to EFCC
By Ise-Oluwa Ige
ABUJA Four days before an Ikeja high court convicted and sentenced Emmanuel
Nwude to 25 years imprisonment for participating in defrauding a Brazilian, Mr Nelson
Sakaguchi, a whopping sum of US$ 242million between 1995 and 1998, he had
voluntarily surrendered majority of his choice assets, both in Nigeria and abroad, for
total and final settlement of the case.
Vanguard learnt at the weekend that Nwude, last Tuesday, in Lagos, personally signed
a document titled "Settlement Agreement," which ceded to Sakaguchi, all his legal and
equitable rights to the choice assets.
A copy of the agreement made available to Vanguard indicated that the trial judge,
Justice Olubunmi Oyewole substantially premised his judgment on the substance of the
‘settlement agreement’ on forfeiture of the choice assets.
The voluntarily surrendered assets include real estates, a number of expensive cars
and large public quoted shares in a number of blue chip companies.
He signed away his possessions of the assets on November 15, in Lagos when it
dawned on him that he had a very bad case in court and after striking a deal with the
EFCC on the settlement of the case.
While serving his jail term in Lagos prison, he is expected to deliver to Sakaguchi, all
title documents to all the assets voluntarily surrendered by him within a maximum of 15
days.
The ultimatum for the delivery of the titled documents expires November 29, this year,
otherwise the settlement agreement already signed by him would be deemed void.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission which prosecuted him in court was the
engineer of the settlement agreement.
According to the agreement, the commission is also expected, in principle, to vet and
okay the agreement especially its compliance within 30 days from the date both parties
(Nwude and Sakaguchi) or their nominees, appended their signatures on the
agreement.
By implication, EFCC is expected to okay the agreement on the surrender of Nwude’s
assets before December 14, this year.
The surrendered assets are to be disposed off with the proceeds from the sales
exclusively used to settle a judgment debt entered against Nwude and his accomplices
at a Superior Court of the State of California more than two years ago over the US
$242million scam, the biggest single fraud ever in the world.
In the final judgment off-shore, Chief Emmanuel Nwude Odinigwe was ordered to pay
the plaintiffs in the suit including Sakaguchi, Leo Wallace Conchranc and Leo Wallace
Conchranc (jnr) a whopping sum of US$134,277,500.00.
The court also ordered him to pay interest on the principal judgment sum at the rate
of 7% per annum “from the various dates of conversion until November 30, 2004,
amounting to US$74,903,563.00.
In all, Chief Nwude and his accomplices were expected to pay US $209,181,063.00
amounting to N29, 076,167,757.00k (N29billion). Part of the proceeds made from the
sale of his assets is also expected to be used to pay the legal fees incurred in a
separate action commenced against him (Nwude) and his accomplices before the
English high court of justice, Chancery division over the same US$242million scam.
Probably because Nwude was not operating as a one-man-squad, Sakaguchi is
demanding from him a total sum of US$120,000,000.00 as final and total settlement
of the case made against him.
***********************************************
19 NOV 2005
From Vanguard, a Nigerian newspaper:
$242m scam: Nwude, Okoli jailed 37 years
By Wahab Abdulah, Gabriel Onyeaku & Faith Ifediora
Two of the three suspects charged for defrauding a Brazilian Bank of 242 million dollars
said to be the biggest scam in history, Chiefs Emmanuel Nwude and Nzeribe Okoli
were yesterday sentenced to a combined prison term of 37 years.
They are also to forfeit 110 million dollars to the Brazilian bank and pay 11.5 million
dollars to the Federal Government. Chief Nwude bagged 25 years while Okoli will
spend the next 12 years behind bars. The third accused person, Mrs Amaka Anajemba
had avoided trial by pleading guilty to the amended charges and was immediately
sentenced to 30 years imprisonment in July this year.
The duo were found guilty on all the 11 offences they were charged with. The terms are
to run concurrently. The convicts changed their plea to guilty after initially pleading not
guilty. They impressed the trial judge who commended them in his judgement.
Chief Nwude, Mrs Amaka Anajemba and Chief Okoli alongside their four companies
were arraigned before an Abuja High Court in 2004 for swindling a Brazilian bank,
Banko Noroeste S.A. of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Later, the Abuja High Court rejected the case on the ground that it had no jurisdiction
before it was transferred to Lagos High Court presided by Justice Joseph Oyewole.
The matter dragged for over one year with various applications filed by the accused
persons to frustrate the trial.
Delivering judgement, Justice Oyewole convicted them and their companies. They are
also to forfeit their property, including houses and vehicles. Justice Oyewole in his
judgement held: "I have duly considered the submissions of counsel and I must
commend the candour, wit and erudition displayed. This is in line with the best tradition
at the bar. In imposing sentence on the accused persons, the court has noted the fact
that in changing their pleas, valuable time and resources are being saved and is
evidence of remorse and common sense, a point appreciated by the prosecution as
reflected in the present amended charges."
"A balance must however be arrived at by the court in ensuring that not only is the
financial element which induces and motivates this class of offences is taken care of,
but also impose sanctions that would signpost to society that crime does not pay and
that certain conducts are simply not acceptable."
It is indeed sad that the activities of the accused persons not only led to the collapse of
a bank in a foreign country but also brought miseries to many innocent people."
He subsequently read his sentences attached to each charge.
The principal victim of the fraud, Mr. Nelson Sakagushi, a director of the Brazilian bank
who was in Nigeria in an attempt to give evidence in the case expressed satisfaction
with the way the case was concluded by the court. He said "I never doubted the integrity
of the court in Nigeria and I am happy that justice was done in the case."
Also, counsel in the case, including that of the defence Mr Ricky Tarfa, (SAN), hailed
the court sentence, stating that "it’s a well written judgement."
In his allocutos to the court, Tarfa, said his client was a first offender , who has no criminal
records and that he was sick while having children and aged parents. He urged the
court to temper justice with mercies in its sentence.
Here is the URL of this article for as long as it is good:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/nationalx/nr119112005.html
**The Nigerian newspaper The Guardian, also covered this story:
Court jails convicts 37 years in biggest fraud
By Mustapha Ogunsakin
THE much-celebrated $242 million fraud trial against a Brazilian Bank, perpetrated by
some Nigerians, came to an end yesterday as a Lagos High Court sentenced the two
accused persons (now convicts) to a total of 37 years' imprisonment.
Besides, the convicts, Chief Emmanuel Nwude and Chief Nzeribe Okolo are to forfeit a
total of $121.5 million, including all their known property, both home and abroad, to the
victims of the fraud (the Bank) and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
It was indeed a trial full of intrigues, which spanned one and a half years. For one full
year, the convicts stalled the trials; changed counsel for about five times; a senior
advocate of Nigeria walked out of court with a bomb scare that threw the whole of the
high court complex, Ikeja into pandemonium on September 13, 2005.
On July 16, 2005 the third accused person, Mrs Martina Amaka Anajemba pleaded
guilty to the charges against her. She forfeited N32 billion both in cash and assets, and
was sentenced to two and a half years of imprisonment.
The convicts created a lot of unpleasant dramas and intrigues that were maturedly
handled by the trial judge, Justice Joseph Olubunmi Oyewole.
The convicts however started getting jittery when on September 13, an employee of
United Bank of Africa (UBA) Mr. Oludayo Ogunleye was expected to give evidence in
court about their transaction with the bank.
During the bomb scare in the court premises, the witness was abducted and the exhibits
he was to tender in court were tampered with.
The bomb scare is currently being investigated by a tribunal of inquiry set up by Lagos
State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu with Justice Adebola Adefope-Okojie as the
tribunal chairman. The police authorities had also conducted a similar investigation.
By September 25, an Indian businessman, Mr. Naresh Asnani, standing as a witness,
told the court how he assisted Nwude to launder $127 million through various banks in
Nigeria and abroad.
The last straw that broke the will of the accused however, was the appearance in court
of the former Managing Director of Banco Noroaste Sa, (the bank that was duped), Mr.
Nelson Sakaguchi. They could not believe, in their wildest imagination, that the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) would be able to bring Sakaguchi
to Nigeria.
Subsequently, a plea bargain situation was reached with the prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi
Jacobs wherein they agreed to plead guilty for a light sentence in addition to forfeit all
their known assets.
In delivering his judgement yesterday, Justice Oyewole said: "A balance must be
arrived at by the court in ensuring that not only is the financial element, which induces
and motivates this class of offences taking care of but also imposes sanctions that
would sign post to society that crime does not pay and that certain conduct is simply not
acceptable."
He continued: "It is sad that the activities of the accused persons not only led to the
collapse of a bank in a foreign country but also brought miseries to many innocent
people."
Justice Oyewole thereafter sentenced the first accused (Nwude) to a total of 25 years
imprisonment on a five-count charge.
Nwude is also to forfeit $110 million to the affected bank, forfeit all his assets - property,
cars, shares and money in bank accounts to the victims. He and his companies are
also to forfeit $11.5 million to the Federal Government after which they will wound up.
Okolo was also sentenced to a 12-year imprisonment in addition to forfeiture of all his
property.
**The Nigerian newpaper ThisDay also covered this story:
$242m Scam: Nwude pleads guilty, bags 25 yrs jail term
By Abimbola Akosile,
With the clear words, "I am guilty," uttered by Chief Emmanuel Nwude and his
accomplice, Mr. Nzeribe Edeh Okoli, trial ended yesterday and judgment was passed
by an Ikeja High Court judge, Justice Olubunmi Oyewole in a $242 million advance fee
fraud (a.k.a. 419) case involving fraudulently obtained from a Brazilian banker, Mr.
Nelson Sakaguchi over a three-year period, from April 2, 1995 to January 20, 1998.
Nwude, (a.k.a Paul Ogwuma Odinigwe) 1st accused person, Okoli (3rd accused), Emrus
(Nig.) Ltd., Ocean Marketing Co. (Nig.) Ltd. and African Shelter Bureau (Nig.) Ltd. (5th-7th
accused), pleaded guilty to an amended 12-count charge filed yesterday by Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a plea-bargain move that saw the accused
persons receiving 25 years and 12 years jail terms respectively and varying fines for the
companies. The sentences are, however, to run concurrently from day of incarceration.
The 1st accused, who was first arrested June 4, 2003, was ordered to refund $110 million
to Banco Noroeste, and forfeit 14 properties (located in Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Anambra,
Rivers, and England), six choice cars and over 100 million shares in banks and various
companies in Nigeria. Okoli (arrested on January 20, 2004) is to forgo an uncompleted
filling station, residential complex and all landed properties located at 6, Ocean Avenue,
Nkpokiti, Enugu State; while the three companies (Emrus, Ocean Marketing, and African
Shelter Bureau) are to be winded up after refunding $11.5 million to the Federal
Government.
The judgment is coming 15 months after accused persons were first arraigned in a de
novo trial before Justice Oyewole on July 23, 2004, following an Abuja High Court's
dismissal of the previous 86 count charge brought against them for lack of jurisdiction
(offences were committed within Lagos jurisdiction). Eminent lawyers like Chiefs Alex
Izinyon (SAN), G.O.K. Ajayi (SAN) and Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) had appeared earlier
and brought several applications on behalf of Nwude. Late Chief Rotimi Williams (SAN)
(who briefly represented Amaka Anajemba), and Chief Chris Uche, who facilitated a
plea, bargain for her.
When the matter came up yesterday morning, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, lead prosecution
counsel, informed court of an amendment in the previous 91-count charge filed against
the accused persons. There was no objection to the new 12-count charge from Mr.
Rickey Tarfa (SAN) lead defence counsel to Nwude and Mr. Adeshina Ogunlana,
Okoli's counsel; after which the judge adjourned briefly to his chambers with all counsel
to deliberate on the new dimension.
At 10.50am, when hearing resumed, Jacobs applied that the new charge be read to the
accused persons, with again no objection from defence counsel. In a reading which
spanned 25 minutes (11.15am), Nwude, who sported an ash coloured two-piece kaftan,
pleaded guilty to every charge read to him by the court registrar, Mrs. Rosulu; a move
which was copied by Okoli (who wore a navy-blue suit on a white shirt). Both accused
also pleaded guilty on behalf of their companies when the charge was read to 5th - 7th
accused.
Jacobs thereafter sought to present enough evidence before the court to convict
accused persons, tracing the history of the fraud from March 20, 1995, when Sakaguchi
(who was in court all through yesterday's proceedings) was contacted by letter for a
contract, using Okoli's phone line to send a fax; after which regular contact was made by
Nwude and late Christian Anajemba to obtain various sums of money from the victim on
false pretence, allegedly to settle tax on a Federal Government contract award for
construction of Abuja International Airport.
Justice Oyewole, who convicted the accused persons after listening to Jacob's
submissions, listened to the allocutus from Tarfa and Ogunlana (defence counsel)
before rising for one hour, ten minutes to deliver his judgment and sentence on the
convicts. Though he was urged to temper justice with mercy, Oyewole insisted that a
balance must be struck between the plea for mercy and need for a deterrent for would-
be scammers. The judge thereafter sentenced Nwude to 5 years imprisonment for each
of the five counts against him (counts 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5), while Okoli was sentenced to 4 years
for each of the three counts preferred against him (counts 1, 6, & 7), which are to run
concurrently.
Trial began October 5, 2004 in the matter, where six prosecution witnesses out of 28
(both local and foreign) have testified so far in court, in a de novo (fresh) case in which
trial judge favours accelerated hearing. However, both Amaka Anajemba (Mrs.) and
Fynbaz (Nig.) Limited (2nd & 4th accused respectively), initially charged alongside other
suspects, pleaded guilty to a fresh 4-count charge on July 15, and were subsequently
sentenced to prison terms and fines, with their names deleted from an amended
information filed by the prosecutor, EFCC.
Anajemba was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment, and the said sentence
to commence from January 30, 2004, when she was first remanded in prison custody. In
addition to her prison sentence Justice Oyewole also ordered that numerous valued
assets of 2nd accused person, both local and foreign, which value exceeded N3 billion
and $25 million respectively, be forfeited to the victims of the said fraud named in the
charge, as restitution.
First arraigned in Abuja on February 4, 2004, accused persons, in an 86-count-charge,
were alleged to have defrauded Sakaguchi of $242 million from April 2, 1995 to January
20, 1998 at Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos State, contrary to Sections 1(1)(a) and (3) of the Advance
Fee Fraud Act of 1995 as amended by Act 62 of 1998. Amount obtained was to
represent payment due to the Federal Government of Nigeria on the alleged contract
No. FMA/132/ 019/82 for construction of Abuja International Airport, Nigeria. Penalties for
each of the counts range between 5 - 10 years.
Sakaguchi, star prosecution witness in the case, who first appeared in court on
Tuesday, November 15, yesterday hailed the court judgment on the grounds that it has
vindicated him after all the years of derision and public odium heaped on him by the
bank's shareholders and prosecutors.
** 419 Coalition extends our thanks to the EFCC for all their
hard work in the long haul of bringing these high level 419ers
to Justice. We trust that the seized monies and assets of the
419ers will be distributed to their victim(s) forthwith.
*************************************
16 NOV 2005
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
$242m Scam: Sakaguchi, duped Brazilian, appears in court
By Abimbola Akosile
Trial in a $242million advance fee fraud a.k.a. 419 scam, took a new dimension in an
Ikeja High Court presided over by Justice Olubunmi Oyewole yesterday, when
prosecution's principal witness, Mr. Nelson Sakaguchi, a Brazilian and director in Banco
Noereste Brazil, appeared in readiness to give evidence in the year-old trial. However,
barring any last-minute change, he will do so on Friday, November 18, next adjourned
date.
Sakaguchi, a white, chubby, brown-haired man who sported a black suit on white shirt,
was brought to court in a five-vehicle convoy of bullet-proof jeeps by officials of
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and heavily-armed mobile
policemen in a tight security cordon, which surrounded the Ikeja courtroom while
yesterday's proceedings were going on.
The star witness was allegedly duped of $24.2 million by three Nigerians including Chief
Emmanuel Nwude (a.k.a Paul Ogwuma Odinigwe) 1st accused, Mr. Nzeribe Edeh Okoli
(3rd accused), Emrus (Nig.) Ltd., Ocean Marketing Co. (Nig.) Ltd. and African Shelter
Bureau (Nig.) Ltd. (5th-7th accused) between 1995 and 1998 through a complicated wire
transfer system involving both local and foreign banks and some foreigners.
However, both Amaka Anajemba (Mrs.) and Fynbaz (Nig.) Limited (2nd & 4th accused
respectively), initially charged alongside above suspects, pleaded guilty to a fresh 4-
count charge on July 15, and were subsequently sentenced to prison terms and fines,
with their names deleted from an amended information filed by the prosecutor, EFCC.
When the matter came up before Justice Oyewole yesterday morning, Chief Olisa
Agbakoba, SAN, lead defence counsel for Nwude, was again absent in court (which led
to an adjournment last week), although Mr. Rickey Tarfa, SAN, announced appearance
for the 1st accused and sought court leave for some time to allow him acquaint himself
properly with the matter; which prompted the court to grant a 30-minute recess.Although
Agbakoba was earlier scheduled to cross-examine Mr. Naresh Asnani, an Indian
business-man (PW6) who allegedly helped Nwude launder around $127 million through
his bank accounts, both Tarfa and Mr. Adeshina Ogunlana (Okoli's counsel) declined to
cross-examine Asnani despite his previous lengthy testimony. Lead prosecution
counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs thereafter called upon Sakaguchi as the next witness,
though the matter could not go on since he (Jacobs) told court he needed two days to
confer with his star witness.
Sakaguchi, on a business trip to Nigeria in 1994, was allegedly introduced to the
accused, by his friend Dr. Hakim Ukeh, an Enugu-based businessman. Two of the
suspects allegedly claimed that they control the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Nwude,
a major shareholder at Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, posed as Mr. Paul Ogwuma, then
Governor of CBN, while Amaka's husband, Ikechukwu Anajemba posed as Alhaji
Mahey Rasheed, who was the CBN Deputy Governor in charge of foreign operations in
1995.
The unsuspecting Brazilian was deceived into believing that the suspects won a
contract in Nigeria and was asked to send money to facilitate the supposed contract,
which was done in 8 installments, beginning with a first installment of $1.2 million on
August 9, 1995 and last payment of $1.35 million in 1998.
Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=33457
********************************************
15 NOV 2005
From WBAL TV News, NBC Channel 11, Baltimore MD:
TOWSON, Md. -- You've won thousands of dollars and you have a check to prove it, but
are you the target of a scam?
Maryland, 46 other states and Western Union hope a new initiative will end scams run
by people in foreign countries. The goal is to protect senior citizens and others who fall
prey to false lottery notifications and money schemes.
It's considered a $40 billion a year problem -- consumers losing money they sent to
fraudulent telemarketers and scam artists. Now, in an agreement between Western
Union and 47 state attorneys general, customers will be warned before they wire money.
Attorney General Joseph Curran said Maryland was part of a multi-state investigation of
telemarketing fraud. The investigation found nearly 40 percent of all telemarketing
transfers that went to Canada were fraudulently induced. It also found of those
telemarketers who are dishonest, 8 out of 10 of their victims were seniors.
Sandra Hubbell received confidential letters from Nova Management and Payment,
Inc., of Nova Scotia telling her she was the winner of $100,000 in a lottery. She even
received a check for $3,600.
The catch: she had to deposit the check into her bank account. It would then be used to
pay for processing and surcharges. She became suspicious.
"Not to mention I don't even remember entering a sweepstakes," Hubbell said.
"According to the letter, it was 2 or 3 years ago I entered and they are just getting around
to sending me my money."
Her bank found the check was bogus. She worries about seniors who may get similar
letters or phone calls and then open up their bank accounts or send money transfers out
of the country.
"It's terrible how people can prey on other people, especially the elderly," Hubbell said.
"It's sad."
But Hubbell is glad there's an effort to prevent the fraud. Western Union will spend $8.1
million on a national consumer awareness program for seniors and post warnings to
customers. The company will block transfers if fraud is suspected and fire any of its
agents who assist in fraud.
According to Western Union, customers who wire money and then think they are being
scammed can stop the transaction and get reimbursed as long as the wire transfer has
not been picked up on the other end. On the company's Web site, Western Union
president Christina Gold said, "Consumer fraud is an issue we take very seriously."
Here is the URL for as long as it is good:
http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/5328001/detail.html#
***************************************
9 NOV 2005
This is an Op-Ed piece by Professor Niyi Akinnaso, who
teaches Anthropology and Linguistics in the United States,
which was published in The Guardian, a Nigerian newspaper.
We thought it was an excellent piece, so we've put it up:
Yours sincerely, 4-1-9
By Niyi Akinnaso
I recently received the 100th and 101st letters from 419 fraudsters and I thought I should
share them with the general public, partly because of the names mentioned in the letters
and partly because of what the letters reflect about the fraudulent activities perpetrated
by Nigerians.
In each of the recent con letters, a purported close relative of a now infamous Nigerian
approached me about a lucrative business deal, involving plenty of money. One of the
fraudsters goes by the name Mariam Abacha and the other by the name Olatunde A.
Balogun. These, of course, should be understood as the assumed names of the
fraudsters rather than their real names. The former claims to be the widow of "General
Abacha the former head of state of Nigeria", while the latter introduced himself as "the
first son of the Former Inspector General of Police" who is "still under the custody of
Investigation that was set up by the Federal Government to investigate his financial
success."
At first, the two messages looked very different, judging by the subject title and opening
salutation. Mariam's message is titled "In good faith" and opens with "Dear Beloved." I
first thought it was one of those evangelical messages of the type you are requested to
circulate to at least three people. On the other hand, the subject title of Olatunde's letter
is "Business Proposal" with "Dear Friend" as the opening salutation. However, upon
reading both messages in full, I discovered several shared features characteristic of
classical 419 letters.
First, both con letter writers contacted me via e-mail. I must add that I have also received
numerous con messages via telephone and fax. Just a few days ago, some fraudster
left a message on my phone, confirming that my check has been cleared by the Central
Bank and that I should contact him about the procedure for clearing it.
Second, the writers parade themselves as close relatives of some wealthy public figure.
As mentioned above, one of the present writers is a wife and the other a first son of the
wealthy person in question. These are excellent qualifications to convince me that both
writers should have access to information about their relatives and, therefore, they
should know what they are talking about.
Third, the relative and public figure represented by the fraudster is either dead or in
serious trouble. So, the late General Abacha and the indicted former Inspector General
of Police are good candidates, because neither could access his money. Since the
federal government has been going after the money, it makes sense that close relatives
would want to move some of it elsewhere to avoid seizure.
Fourth, each wealthy relative has millions of dollars kept somewhere, which the con
relatives want me to receive and keep on their behalf. Mariam explains why she wants
me to keep the money for her: "I have lost confidence with anybody within my country. I
got your contacts through personal research." Moreover, "due to security network
placed on my daily affairs I can't visit the embassy so that is why I have contacted you."
Olatunde's reason is explicitly business-related: "I want you to do us a favour to receive
this trunk box and lodge the cash into a safe account in your country or any safe place
as the beneficiary. We have plans to do investment in your country, like real estate and
industrial production."
Fifth, the money in question has been kept in a safe place, still unknown to the
government. Mariam assures me: "My husband deposited $12.6 million dollars with a
security firm abroad whose name is withheld for now till we communicate." Olatunde
said of his father: "Before his arrest, he had a trunk box containing cash deposited in a
security vault in London up to the tune of $20M US Dollars."
Sixth, I will have a share of the total sum of money involved; exactly 20 per cent in each
case. So, I will make $2.52 million from the transaction with Mariam and $4 million from
the one with Olatunde. A total sum of $6.52 million or N912.8 million. However, the
procedure for getting the money into my account is quite intricate. Consequently, neither
fraudster would tell me via the present e-mail address.
This leads to the seventh shared characteristic of both letters. Both writers promise to
provide further details about the transaction only after I have indicated my willingness to
play along by responding to another private e-mail address. Mariam's private address
is hajiamimi@yahoo.com, while Olatunde's is olatundebalogun000@yahoo.com. In my
response, Mariam also wants me to supply my telephone and fax numbers. I guess
Olatunde will request them later.
Although I never responded, and will never respond, to any 419 letter, I know a little bit
about what might happen if I agreed to honor the fraudsters' solicitation. From various
published accounts on 419, my bank account number would be needed so the money
could be transferred there. If I express doubts about the funds being transferred, some
fake documents may be sent to me (usually by fax) to authenticate the overseas
account claimed by the fraudsters. I would be required to send some money for
processing the transaction. Sometime down the road, complications may arise that
inevitably would require me to send more and more money to save the venture. At the
end of the day, my money would have gone to the fraudsters but no money would have
come to me from them. And my bank account would have become insecure!
The fraudulent scheme just described above is known in the United States as "Advance
Fee Fraud" Scheme, named after the advance fees often demanded from fraud victims.
The same scheme is often referred to as "The Nigerian Connection" in Europe, thus
highlighting the presumed country of origin of the scheme. However, both in Nigeria and
abroad, the scheme is generally referred to as 419, after the relevant section of
Nigeria's criminal code. Although such a scheme has been found to originate from other
West African countries and con collaborators abroad, it is generally associated with
Nigeria.
Indeed, as recently as August 7, 2005, Dulue Mbachu of the Associated Press went as
far as pinpointing an area of Lagos where fraudsters plan and hatch their plots. This is
how Mbachu puts it: "Lagos, Nigeria - In Festac Town, an entire community of scammers
overnights on the Internet. By day they flaunt their smart clothes and cars and hang
around the Internet cafes, trading stories about successful cons and near misses, and
hatching new plots."
There are many lessons about Nigeria and Nigerians to be learned from the 419
scheme. First and foremost, the scheme is symptomatic of a broad range of fraudulent
practices associated with Nigeria as a nation and some Nigerians at home and abroad.
These fraudulent practices range from bribery and corruption, money laundering, credit
card fraud, and illicit drug trade to examination fraud, falsified credentials, and rigged
elections. These are the practices that have earned Nigeria the bad reputation of a
corrupt nation, a stigmatisation that continues to affect trade, diplomatic, and other
relations with Nigeria.
The two 419 letters analysed above are particularly significant because they highlight
allegations of corruption in two high places, namely, the police and the presidency.
Although he has not been convicted of any crime, Tafa Balogun, the former Inspector
General of Police, is facing numerous charges of corruption involving billions of Naira.
By the same token, the late Gen. Sani Abacha, a former Head of State, is said to have
laundered huge sums of money through United Kingdom (UK) and Swiss banks, some
of which was recently returned to Nigeria. Mariam and Olatunde, the present fraudsters,
are capitalising on these well known cases.
Finally, these celebrated cases also remind us of other contemporary allegations of
fraud. These include the National Identity Card Project fraud involving a former Minister
of Internal Affairs; the bribe-for-budget scandal, involving a former Minister of Education
and several Senators; the 14 billion Naira fertilizer scam, involving at least a Minister
and a Senator; the ongoing money laundering case involving a state Governor; the
recent disclosure by the Central Bank of 99 cases of bank fraud and forgeries involving
N733.74 million; and the notorious forgeries associated with Oluwole market in Lagos.
It would be unfair, of course, not to acknowledge the anti-corruption work of the present
administration, which heightened recently in response to pressure from G8 leaders and
the Paris Club. While this effort is leading to various revelations of fraud, two important
questions remain. First, what happens to the money being recovered? Second, will the
present effort curb corruption any better than previous government efforts, such as
Shagari's Ethical Revolution and Abacha's War Against Indiscipline and Corruption?
Whatever the answers may be to these questions, it is at least refreshing to hope that
Nigeria's political culture of corruption will change for the better.
*******************************************
20 OCT 2005
From the Los Angeles Times:
Nigerian Cyber Scammers
To the cyber scammers in Nigeria who trawl for victims on the Internet, Americans are
easy targets. But one thief had second thoughts.
By Robyn Dixon, Times Staff Writer
FESTAC, Nigeria: As patient as fishermen, the young men toil day and night, trawling for
replies to the e-mails they shoot to strangers half a world away.
Most recipients hit delete, delete, delete, delete without ever opening the messages that
urge them to claim the untold riches of a long-lost deceased second cousin, and the
messages that offer millions of dollars to help smuggle loot stolen by a corrupt Nigerian
official into a U.S. account.
But the few who actually reply make this a tempting and lucrative business for the boys
of Festac, a neighborhood of Lagos at the center of the cyber-scam universe. The
targets are called maghas - scammer slang from a Yoruba word meaning fool, and
refers to gullible white people.
Samuel is 19, handsome, bright, well-dressed and ambitious. He has a special flair for
computers. Until he quit the game last year, he was one of Festac's best-known cyber-
scam champions.
Like nearly everyone here, he is desperate to escape the run-down, teeming streets, the
grimy buildings, the broken refrigerators stacked outside, the strings of wet washing. It's
the kind of place where plainclothes police prowl the streets extorting bribes, where
mobs burn thieves to death for stealing a cellphone, and where some people paint
"This House Is Not For Sale" in big letters on their homes, in case someone posing as
the owner tries to put it on the market.
It is where places like the Net Express cyber cafe thrive.
The atmosphere of silent concentration inside the cafe is absolute, strangely
reminiscent of a university library before exams. Except, that is, for the odd guffaw or
cheer. The doors are locked from 10:30 p.m. until 7 a.m., so the cyber thieves can work
in peace without fear of armed intruders.
In this sanctum, Samuel says, he extracted thousands of American e-mail addresses,
sent off thousands of fraudulent letters, and waited for replies. He thinks disclosure of his
surname could endanger his safety.
The e-mail scammers here prefer hitting Americans, whom they see as rich and easy to
fool. They rationalize the crime by telling themselves there are no real victims: Maghas
are avaricious and complicit.
To them, the scams, called 419 after the Nigerian statute against fraud, are a game.
Their anthem, "I Go Chop Your Dollars," hugely popular in Lagos, hit the airwaves a few
months ago as a CD penned by an artist called Osofia:
"419 is just a game, you are the losers, we are the winners.
White people are greedy, I can say they are greedy
White men, I will eat your dollars, will take your money and disappear.
419 is just a game, we are the masters, you are the losers."
"Nobody feels sorry for the victims," Samuel said.
Scammers, he said, "have the belief that white men are stupid and greedy. They say the
American guy has a good life. There's this belief that for every dollar they lose, the
American government will pay them back in some way."
What makes the scams so tempting for the targets is that they promise a tantalizing
escape from the mundane disappointments of life. The scams offer fabulous riches or
the love of your life, but first the magha has to send a series of escalating fees and
payments. In a dating scam, for instance, the fraudsters send pictures taken from
modeling websites.
"Is the girl in these pictures really you?? I just can't get over your beauty!!!! I can't believe
my luck!!!!!!!" one hapless American wrote recently to a scammer seeking $1,200.
The scammer replied, "Would you send the money this week so I may buy a ticket?"
"Aww babe. I don't have the money yet. I will get it, though. Don't you worry your pretty lil
head, hun," the victim wrote back.
The real push comes when the fictional girlfriend or fiancee, who claims to be in
America, goes to Nigeria for business. In a series of "mishaps," her wallet is stolen and
she is held hostage by the hotel owner until she can come up with hundreds of dollars
for the bill. She needs a new airline ticket, has to bribe churlish customs officials and
gets caught. Finally, she needs a hefty get-out-of-jail bribe.
The U.S. Secret Service estimates such schemes net hundreds of millions of dollars
annually worldwide, with many victims too afraid or embarrassed to report their losses.
Basil Udotai of the government's Nigerian Cybercrime Working Group said 419 fraud
represents a tiny portion of Nigerian computer crime, but is taken seriously by
authorities because of the damage it does to the country's reputation.
"The government is not just sitting on its hands," he said. "It's very important for the
international community to know that Nigeria is not glossing over the problem of 419. We
are putting together measures that will tackle all forms of online crime and give law
enforcement agencies opportunities to combat it."
Asishana Okauru, acting director of financial intelligence for the government's Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission, said $700 million relating to 419 crime had been
seized in the two years since the establishment of the EFCC. There have been 12
convictions in such cases brought during that time, he said. Okauru said he felt this was
a good result given the sluggishness of Nigeria's legal system, but critics say the courts
are too slow and corrupt.
Nigerian authorities, extremely sensitive about 419 crime, say the scammers are mostly
from other countries, and that any Nigerians who participate do so because of high
unemployment and, above all, the greed of victims.
When Samuel, at age 15, sat down in a cyber cafe and started drilling away at the
keyboard, he had no idea he was being watched by one of Festac's cyber-crime
wizards. After noting Samuel's speed and skill, the crime boss, nicknamed Shepherd,
invited him to his mansion to try extracting e-mail addresses using search engines.
Then, to make Samuel feel special, he took him shopping for designer clothes.
"He's fun to be with. When you're around him he makes you feel you have no
problems," Samuel said. Shepherd hooked him with the same bait he uses for maghas.
"He said every hour I spent online I could be making good money," Samuel recalled.
"He said, 'The houses I own, I got it through all this.' And they're not just ordinary houses.
They're big, made of marble. He's got big-screen TVs, a swimming pool inside. He
lives like a prince. He's the biggest guy in this town."
A teenager who didn't really know about the scams, Samuel was "a bit confused" when
Shepherd offered him 20% of the take. "But I looked at everything he had, and it got into
my head, actually. The money he had, the cars."
Eager to impress his new boss, Samuel worked for six-hour stretches extracting e-mail
addresses and sending off letters that had been composed by a college graduate also
working for Shepherd.
He sent 500 e-mails a day and usually received about seven replies. Shepherd would
then take over.
"When you get a reply, it's 70% sure that you'll get the money," Samuel said.
Soon he was working for two bosses, Shepherd and Colosi, both well known to
authorities but neither of them bothered in a place where police involvement in the
scams is widely alleged.
"Most of the time you look for American contacts because of the value of the dollar, and
because the fraudsters here have contacts in America who wrap up the job over there,"
Samuel said. "For example, the offshore people will go to pose as the Nigerian
ambassador to the U.S., or as government officials. They will show some documents:
This has presidential backing, this has government backing. And you will be convinced
because they will tell you in such a way that you won't be able to say no."
After a scam letter surfaced this summer bearing the forged signature of
NigerianPresident Olusegun Obasanjo, police raided a market in the Oluwole
neighborhood of Lagos, one of six main centers that provide documents used in the 419
scams. They seized thousands of foreign and Nigerian passports, 10,000 blank British
Airways tickets, 10,000 U.S. money orders, customs documents, fake university
certificates, 500 printing plates and 500 computers. A stolen U.S. passport fetches
$2,500 on the black market here.
The scams often involve bogus Internet sites, such as lottery websites, or oil company,
bank or government sites. The scammers sometimes use London phone prefixes to
make victims think they are calling Britain.
Though the fraud is apparent to many, some people think they have stumbled on a
once-in-a-lifetime deal, and scammers can string them along for months with mythical
difficulties. Some victims eventually contribute huge sums of money to save the deal
when it is suddenly "at risk."
Stephen Kovacsics of American Citizen Services, an office of the U.S. Consulate, spoke
to a victim who had lost $200,000.
Kovacsics says he is awakened several nights a week by Americans pleading for help
with an emergency, such as a fiancee (whom they have only met in an online chat room)
locked up in a Nigerian jail. He has to tell them that there is probably no fiancee, no
emergency.
Kovacsics said victims can't believe that a scammer would spend months of internet
chat just to net $700 or $1,000, not realizing that is big money in Nigeria and fraudsters
will have many scams running at the same time.
By 2003, Shepherd was fleecing 25 to 40 victims a month, Samuel said. Samuel never
got the 20%, but still made a minimum of $900 a month, three times the average income
here. At times, he made $6,000 to $7,000 a month.
Samuel said Shepherd employs seven Nigerians in America, including one in the San
Francisco Bay Area, to spy on maghas and threaten any who get cold feet. If a big deal
is going off track, he calls in all seven.
"They're all graduates and very smart," Samuel said. "Four of them are graduates in
psychology here in Nigeria. If the white guy is getting suspicious, he'll call them all in and
say, 'Can you finish this off for me?'
"They'll try to scare you that you're not going to get out of it. Or you're going to be
arrested and you will face trial in Nigeria. They'll say: 'We know you were at Wal-Mart
yesterday. We know the D.A. He's our friend.' "
"They'll tell you that you are in too deep - you either complete it or you'll be killed."
Samuel said his mother, widowed when he was 16, was devastated when she saw him
in the street with Shepherd and realized what he was up to.
"She tried to force me to stop, but the more force she applied, the more hardened I
became. I said: 'You can't give me what I want. I want a good life.' "
But Samuel began having second thoughts when a friend was arrested after ripping off a
boss for $17,000.
The friend was badly beaten before disappearing into the depths of the labyrinthine
Nigerian justice system. Samuel thought of his mother and how she would be left alone if
something happened to him.
When he gave up cyber crime at the end of last year, he said nothing to his mother. But
she noticed.
"She said she was happy and she could sleep well," he said. "Actually, I started crying. I
couldn't control myself. I realized there was more to life than chasing money."
Now when he sees Shepherd in the streets, his former boss just grins.
"He says: 'Don't worry. You'll come back to me.' "
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)
The many forms of 419 scams
Advance-fee frauds, also known as 419, appear to offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
to get rich or find the girl of your dreams. The scams can involve phony websites, forged
documents and Nigerians in America posing as government officials. Here are some of
the most popular:
The "next of kin" scam, tempting you to claim an inheritance of millions of dollars in a
Nigerian bank belonging to a long-lost relative, then collecting money for various bank
and transfer fees.
The "laundering crooked money" scam, in which you are promised a large commission
on a multibillion-dollar fortune, persuaded to open an account, contribute funds and
sometimes even travel to Nigeria.
The "Nigerian National Petroleum Co." scam, in which the scammer offers cheap crude
oil, then demands money for commissions and bribes.
The "overpayment" scam, in which fraudsters send a bank check overpaying for a car
or other goods by many thousands of dollars, persuading the victim to transfer the
difference back to Nigeria.
The "job offer you can't refuse" scam, in which an "oil company" offers a job with an
overly attractive salary and conditions (in one example, $180,000 a year and $300 per
hour for overtime) and extracts money for visas, permits and other fees.
The "winning ticket in a lottery you never entered" scam - including, lately, the State
Department's green card lottery.
The "gorgeous person in trouble" scam, in which scammers in chat rooms and on
Christian dating sites pose as beautiful American or Nigerian women, luring lonely men
into Internet intimacy over weeks or months then asking them to send money to get them
out of trouble.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-fg-scammers20oct20,0,1677711,full.story?coll=la-home-headl ines
*************************************************
1 OCT 2005
Sent in by an Associate, from the the Middletown NY
Times Herald-Record (Hudson Valley NY), Online:
Claryville: Police arrest two in lottery scam
The scam is one of the most common around today, according to the Federal Trade
Commission: A lottery scam.
But a Claryville man didn't know that. On a promise of a big lottery payout, the man
sent $7,800 to a New Jersey company. Then the company promised an extra $750,000
if he wired $7,100 more to them in Jersey City, N.J., via Western Union.
The Claryville man called state police and they set up a sting operation, with the help
of Western Union's security department and Jersey City police. On Thursday, when two
men tried to claim the $7,100 at the Jersey City Western Union, store, Jersey City cops
arrested them.
Jersey City filed charges and New York State Police lodged an arrest warrant charging
Aloice A. Vincent, 28, of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and William Anderson Wheatfield,
35, of Toronto, with attempted third-degree grand larceny, a felony. Police said
they're Nigerian-Canadian citizens.
The men were being held at the Hudson County, N.J., Jail.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2005/10/01/brf373.htm
******************************************
28 SEP 2005
From The Guardian, a Nigerian newspaper:
Nwude asked me to implicate Anajemba, witness tells court
By Mustapha Ogunsakin
A WITNESS in the trial of two Nigerians over alleged $242 million fraud yesterday told a
Lagos High Court how the principal accused person, Chief Emmanuel Nwude, denied
him and asked him to implicate a dead man because "dead men don't speak."
Nwude and others were accused of defrauding a Brazilian bank of $242 million.
The witness, an Indian, Mr. Naresh Asnami gave this evidence before the trial judge,
Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Ikeja Judicial Division in conclusion of the evidence in
chief conducted by the prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs.
Asnami started his evidence in chief last Friday. He revealed that he was used to
launder $127 million through his on-shore accounts in London and Geneva, Switzerland.
For now, the aspect of money laundering in the trial of what has come to be regarded as
the biggest fraud trial in the world may be nearing completion.
It is still expected that the managing director of Banco Noroeste, the bank that was
defrauded may still come before the court to give evidence on how the crime was
actually committed.
When the matter come up yesterday, Asnami narrated to the court how he found out that
his account was all along used for the fraud.
He said: "When I was informed that my accounts has been used for the fraud, I
contacted Chief Nwude. He told me he couldn't understand what is going on and was
not aware of what is happening. A few months latter, I received an e-mail on his behalf
from the lawyer in Switzerland. It was a draft prepared for him to swear to by the lawyer to
the effect that he did not know me. I rushed to his house at Osborne road, Ikoyi, Lagos,
and asked him how he could swear to an affidavit denying me.
"He told me to inform my lawyer or anybody else that I did not know Chief Emmanuel
Nwude and that I only know Chief I.K. Anajemba since he was no longer alive. He
(Nwude) then added: "Dead man don't speak."
The late Anajemba was the husband of Mrs. Amaka Martina Anajemba, who pleaded
guilty to the charges brought against her and was sentenced to two and a half years
imprisonment in addition to losing properties worth several millions of naira in the same
fraud trial.
The other two who are still standing trial are Nwude and Chief Nzeribe Okoli. Late
Anajemba was the third person involved in the scam but he died long before the long
arms of the law caught up with the accused persons.
Asnami further gave a vivid account of how he transferred various sums of monies into
different banks abroad and how he also used the ones he could not transfer to buy
goods for his company, Royal Crest Nigeria Limited.
He also told the court how he used companies belonging to the Indian Community
members. The money, according to him, was given to the members of the Indian
Community in dollars. They in turn used the money to buy goods which they imported
into the country after which they pay back to him the equivalent of the sums in naira. He
(Naresh) in turn credited the accounts of companies given to him by Chief Nwude with
the monies.
He said: "The other balance was used for the payment of the supply of the goods for
which I pay the equivalent in naira and another I sold to friends belonging to the Indian
Community who gave me the equivalent in naira by cheques in favour of Nigerian
companies given to me by Chief Nwude."
Further trial will continue on Friday when Nwude's lawyer, Mr. Olisa Agbakoba is
expected to cross-examine Mr. Asnami.
ThisDay and other Nigerian newspapers also did pieces on this story.
************************************
26 SEP 2005
From The Guardian, a Nigerian newspaper:
Witness admits laundering $127m for Nwude, others
By Mustapha ogunsakin
A year after, the trial of three Nigerians who allegedly defrauded a Brazillian bank of
$242 million resumed at the weekend with an Indian businessman revealing how he
laundered $127million for the accused person.
Since September 2004, the trial judge, Justice Joseph Olubumi Oyewole had to contend
with one application or the other from defence lawyers all in a bid to stall trial of the
accused persons.
Those standing trial in the scam are Chief Emmanuel Nwude and Chief Nzeribe Okoli.
The third accused person, Mrs. Martina Amaka Anajemba pleaded guilty to the charges
preferred against her, and was sentenced to two and half years imprisonment on July
15, 2005 in addition to forfeiting properties that runs into several millions of naira.
Within the last year, the first accused person, Nwude changed his lawyers at least three
times. The high point was when Chief G. O. K. Ajayi (SAN) came into the matter and
abruptly stormed out of court because the trial judge refused to stay proceedings
pending an appeal he had filed before the Court of Appeal, Lagos. He eventually lost
the appeal. He never came back to the court.
Also last week, September 13, there was a bomb scare at the Ikeja High Court premises
where the trial is taking place. Many believed that the scare might not be unconnected
with the case.
However last Friday, an Indian, Mr. Maresh Asnami, a director of Royal Oil Nigeria
Limited, for five hours, pointed how he was hired into laundering $27million for the
accused persons out of the $242 million involved in the scam.
Asnami has also paid a price for being a part of the fraud. He was convicted in Geneva
for money laundering in the same scam and he spent four years in jail. Because of the
fraud, his father had to relocate to India from the United States of America (USA) on the
same case. Both father and son now live in India.
Led in evidence by the prosecution lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, Asnami, told the court
how he was allegedly hired into the laundering business by the branch manager of a
new generation bank, Mr Babatunde Soares.
Soares was in court in July 2004 and he gave evidence on his role in the scam. Asnami
told the court that when Soares introduced him to Nwude, he tried to conduct his own
investigation on his (Nwude's ) personality.
His investigations, he claimed, took him to a bank official, Mrs. N. B. Dosunmu, who told
him that her employers never had problems with Nwude and that he is a reliable
customer.
He also got words from officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA)
and the State Security Service (SSS). The two agencies attested to the impeccable
character Nwude.
Asnami further narrated how he after all these assurances, negotiated with Nwude
through Soares. This was how he helped laundered $127 million through his offshore
accounts in Geneva, London, and Hong Kong.
The witness is expected to continue his evidence in chief today.
Here is the URL pf the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article12
ThisDay also covered the story, here is the URL for that
piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=29270
******************************************
23 SEP 2005
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
EFCC Arraigns Female Director over N21m Fraud
By Abimbola Akosile
A 56-year old female director of Macro-Economic Planning, Ministry of Special Duties in
Oyo State Civil Service, was yesterday arraigned by the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) before an Ikeja High Court judge.
The woman, Mrs. Helen Bankole Laoye was brought before Justice Morenike Obadina
on two separate charges.
The accused was arrested in May this year and charged to court for conspiring with four
other persons (still at large) to obtain the sum of N6 million and $105,000 totaling
N21,225,000.00 (twenty-one million, two hundred and twenty-five thousand naira) from
Messrs. Segun Olufunmi and Adeola Adepoju, Directors of East Atlantic Business
Systems Support Services on one hand and one Pastor Samson Olatunbosun on the
other hand; contrary to Sections 8(a) and 1(3) of Advance Fee Fraud Act, 2004.
When the matter came up around 10am yesterday, Laoye who was brought from EFCC
office in Ikoyi, broke down in tears and pleaded not guilty to all the eight counts in the
two separate charges. She added that she was the only one who was brought to court in
the matter.
While lead prosecution counsel, Mr. Seidu Atteh urged the court to remand the accused
in prison, her defence counsel, Mr. Obafemi Oyeneye pleaded that she should be
allowed to remain within the confines of the EFCC office. a plea which was refused by the
judge, who ordered that she should be taken to Kirikiri Medium Security Prisons (female
wing). Obadina thereafter adjourned the matter till October 11-14 for commencement of
trial.
Laoye, alongside other accused persons, were charged with obtaining the above-
mentioned sums between January and February 2004, in the first charge and between
May and September 2004, in the second charge.
The N4m obtained in first charge was said to represent part payment of security
deposit/contract grant guarantee in respect of an Information Technology (IT) project to
be financed by Department for International Development (DFID) UK; while the N2m and
$105,000 obtained from the pastor was alleged to be part payment that involved a
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) cargo transaction.
*********************************************
15 SEP 2005
From The Guardian, a Nigerian newspaper:
Trial of fraud suspect holds despite Tuesday's bomb scare
By Mustapha Ogunsakin
UNDAUNTED by the bomb scare that was believed to have been targeted at his court
on Tuesday, Justice Olubunmi Oyewole yesterday continued hearing in the fraud case
involving a Brazilian bank, believed to be the world's biggest scam.
Justice Oyewole was the only judge who sat in the whole of Ikeja High Court yesterday.
More facts have also emerged on how a witness in the trial, Mr. Seyi Ogunleye, was
kidnapped in the chaotic situation that arose in the aftermath of the scare.
Sources also narrated how the trial judge escaped to safety after he was told of the
possible bomb explosion.
At exactly 10.10 a.m. yesterday, Justice Oyewole was seated in his court.
And the first case he heard was the $242 million scam against a Brazilian bank preferred
against Chief Emmanuel Nwude and Chief Nzeribe Okoli.
It was the case he was hearing when the bomb scare occurred on Tuesday.
Immediately Justice Oyewole sat yesterday, he apologised to the lawyers present for
what he had thought would be a short adjournment, which eventually took 24 hours. The
whole court burst into laughter, thereby easing whatever tension everybody in court
might feel.
The case could not, however, go on as the accused persons were not brought to court
by the prison wardens. The prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), the defence lawyer,
Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), and the lawyer to the second accused person (Okoli), Mr.
Sina Ogunlana, all agreed that the court should adjourn till tomorrow so that prison
wardens could bring the accused persons to court.
A court official yesterday alleged that Ogunleye was kidnapped and put inside the
same bus with a principal accused person in a fraud case.
The official, who preferred anonymity, yesterday told journalists that she saw same
heftymen rough handling Ogunleye and moving him towards the gate. As they
approached the gates, the unknown persons changed tactics by giving a phone to
Ogunleye to give the accused person; in the process of which prison officials in
company of the accused persons joined the unknown persons in beating up Ogunleye.
"This was in the glare of everybody who had run out of court but nobody knew he
(Ogunleye) was a court witness. They thereafter commanded a bus, moved the
accused persons and Ogunleye into the bus and sped away", she narrated.
Ogunleye was later dropped on the Third Mainland Bridge after all documents that he
was to tender in court had been taken away from him.
The judge's escape from his chambers was dramatic. Someone had gone to his
secretary to tell her to inform the judge that he must rise immediately. When the
Secretary had something about bomb blast, she could not wait for the informant to finish
as she ran into the court (where the judge was already sitting) and whispered to him the
information at her disposal.
Justice Oyewole did not wait. He told the bewildered lawyers that he was rising for a few
minutes. From that point, he entered his chambers, pulled off his wing and gown (the
inner coat and crib were still intact) and sped out of the court premises.
His first port of call was nearby police headquarters where the judge met the State
Police Commissioner Ade Ajakaiye who was at a meeting with his senior officers. It was
Ajakaiye who now explained to him the intelligence report the police had, which
culminated into the bomb explosion experts moving into the court complex. It was after
this that the trial judge moved into safety.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article05
***************************************
14 SEP 2005
From The Guardian, a Nigerian newspaper:
Bomb scare at Lagos high court
Judges, lawyers scamper to safety
Exhibit in bank scam case missing
By Mustapha Ogunsakin, Tunde Alao, Alex Olise, Esther Ojo, Tutu Adeyanju and Taiwo
Oludare
PANDEMONIUM broke out yesterday at the Ikeja High Court premises in Lagos State
over a bomb scare. By the time the dust cleared, some vital documents in a bank fraud
case were reported stolen by some yet unknown persons who were alleged to have
kidnapped a key witness but later released him.
Men of the Nigeria Mobile Police had to cordon the entire Oba Akinjobi Street, starting
from the junction beside the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).
Human and vehicular traffic became hectic while the pandemonium raged
Judges, lawyers, judicial officers and litigants, and even accused persons who were
brought to court for trial ran helter-skelter in fear.
Most of the judges could not wait for their cars and orderlies, as they ran out of the high
court premises, which is the headquarters of the state judiciary.
The incident drew the immediate attention of the Assistant Inspector-General of Police
(AIG) Zone 2, Mr. Israel Ajao and the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ade Ajakaiye.
It all started around 10.00 a.m. when most courts had started sitting. Policemen from the
Bomb Disposal Unit had arrived at the court with two vehicles, saying that they had
intelligence report that a bomb, which had been planted in the court complex, might
explode at anytime.
The Police team was led by Ajao and an Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of
Area 'F' Command, Mr. Habila Joshak.
Ajao later gave instructions that the whole area be cordoned. There were more than 100
armed mobile policemen on the ground.
In the confusion, a witness, who was in court to testify in the biggest fraud case involving
a Brazilian bank, was kidnapped and taken to an unknown destination by some
unknown persons.
The witness, Seyi Ogunleye, was to testify for the prosecution, the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) team led by Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN).
All the documents he was to tender before the court were reportedly taken from him by
the kidnappers, before he was released.
As at press time, officers of the EFCC had taken the witness to Ajao.
The police used a public address system to call on people to go out of the premises.
Some judges who were sitting, hurriedly rose and made straight for their chambers, from
where they took off.
Lawyers were not left out. A Senior Advocate and lawyer to Chief Emmanuel Nwude was
arguing an application before Justice Olubunmi Oyewole in $242 million bank scam
when the pandemonium started.
The senior lawyer hurriedly ran out of the court and made straight for his car.
In the process, his wig fell and was picked by one of his juniors. Even accused persons
were guided out of the premises by prison warders to the "Black Maria" vehicle.
For high profile accused persons like Nwude and his co-accused, Chief Nzeribe Okoli,
prison warders could not wait. They commandeered a bus and took them away
immediately.
Also in the chaos, most judicial officers could not wait to lock their offices, or shut down
their computers before they hurriedly left the premises.
The leader of the bomb disposal unit, Mr. Henry Idiodi, later told journalists that the
police had received intelligence report that a bomb had been planted in the premises.
As at 2.00 p.m., the men of the Bomb Disposal Unit were still combing the premises, from
one office to another while the gates to the court remained shut.
The Chief Registrar of the court, Mr. Abiodun Dabiri, in company of some of his senior
members of staff, later told The Guardian that the situation was "under control" and that
the court would open today.
The Ikeja High Court has been playing host to many celebrated cases, especially
cases that have to do with the EFCC and also the celebrated attempted murder of The
Guardian Publisher, Mr. Alex Ibru case, against former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen.
Ishaya Bamaiyi, Major Al-Mustapha Hamza and others.
Incidentally, most of these cases are being handled by Justice Oyewole. In fact, the
Nwude case was on when the bomb scare occurred. Nwude's lawyer, Mr. Olisa
Agbakoba (SAN), had brought an application before the court seeking to quash the 91-
count charge preferred against his client. Agbakoba was in the process of arguing his
case when the incident started.
Intimidating phone calls and threat letters had of late been sent to Justice Oyewole. On
October 18, 2004, the judge had said in an open court that some persons were paying
unusual visits to him over a case.
He had said: "There are certain visits I received from certain people on behalf of the
accused persons. This is totally unnecessary, as this court would decide this case
based on what happened in this court. The accused persons should be assured that
this court would be fair in this trial."
On December 10, 2004, Justice Oyewole's secretary received a courier letter while the
judge was sitting in open court. The letter addressed to Justice Oyewole turned out to
be a warning on the various cases.
In the letter sent through DHL Courier company, the anonymous writers declared that
they know the judge's home and the school of his children and threatened to deal with
him at the appropriate time.
Police sources told The Guardian that the first intelligence report on the likely explosion
was received early in the morning by Ajao.
A similar report was sent to Ajakaiye.
The two top officers quickly made contact and assembled a team of policemen drawn
from the Force Anti-bomb Squad and made straight for the court.
Ajao and Ajakaiye said the police action was in its 'proactive' bid to tackle terrorism.
Police sources said the intelligence report was linked to a high profile case in one of the
courts.
The bomb scare and police response came barely three weeks after the Senate
passed the Anti-Terrorism Bill.
The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, had in a recent interview
confirmed that very soon, the force would monitor Lagos and Abuja with "Close Circuit
Television (CCTV)", which would help to detect heinous crimes.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article01
ThisDay and other Nigerian newpapers also did articles
on this incident, here is the URL of ths ThisDay piece for
as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=28180
And The URL of The Punch piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.punchng.com/main/article01
Also the Daily Champion URL for their piece for as long as
it is good:
http://www.champion-newspapers.com/news/teasers/article_1
************************************************
13 SEP 2005
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
Obasanjo: Some Nigerians Tried 419 on Me
...Nigeria, haven of fake drugs
From Kunle Aderinokun in Abuja with agency report
President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said advance fee fraudsters aka 419 once
attempted to defraud him. He, however, did not disclose whether or not he fell for it.
Also yesterday in Abuja, Obasanjo said Nigeria is still a haven of fake drugs despite
the efforts of his administration to stop the activities of fake drugs syndicate.
At a meeting with Spanish business community in Madrid, Spain Obasanjo said that the
fraudsters are no respecter of status and advised Spanish businessmen willing to do
business with Nigerians to crosscheck any dealings with the Nigerian embassy.
"We have a number of Nigerians who are engaged in 419, they even tried it on me. Can
you imagine", Obasanjo told his audience.
He said that his fight against corruption would go on until the menace was reduced to the
barest minimum. Obasanjo said he was "on a total war against corruption in all its forms
and manifestations".
He urged the Spanish businessmen to look and perceive Nigeria in new light and "put
aside all the stereotypes, misinformation, prejudice and wrong data bandied about
Nigeria".
Obasanjo said although the country had its share of its problems on corruption the
government was doing something about it, "adding, "and we are succeeding".
[The remainder of the article does not deal with 419 matters]
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=28064
****************************************
2 SEP 2005
From The Guardian, a Nigerian newspaper:
EFCC can't find internet fraudsters, says Ribadu
From Gbolahan Gbadamosi, Jos
THE Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam
Nuhu Ribadu, yesterday admitted the inability of his commission to track down and
punish those who commit advanced fee fraud through the internet.
Speaking through the Secretary to the Commission, Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye, Ribadu
noted that despite the deluge of complaints flooding his commission on a daily basis,
it was a matter of regret that the "culprits could not be tracked down."
He spoke at the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) yearly general conference in
the Plateau State capital, Jos.The session was on the topic : 'Review of Cases of
Professional Misconduct'.
Chairman of the session, former First Vice- President of the NBA, Mrs. Funke Adekoya
(SAN) challenged the EFCC on the deluge of fraud-induced letters in her mail which she
copied to the commission in respect of which no action was taken. [The article
continued concerning other matters not 419 related...]
*********************************************
2 SEP 2005
From the Daily Independent, a Nigerian newspaper:
EU sponsors team to monitor EFCC, ICPC
By Rafiu Ajakaye
Trainee Reporter, Lagos
The European Commission (EC), an arm of the European Union (EU), has voted N15
million to monitor anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria.
The money would be used to sponsor a monitoring team in the country to keep tab on
the operations of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and
Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission.
The exercise to be coordinated by the International Press Centre (IPC), Nigeria,
began on Thursday in Lagos and it is expected to span two years after which
recommendations and appraisals would be made on the President Olusegun
Obasanjo-led anti-graft campaign.
Representative EC and the Project Manager, Good Governance and Human Rights,
Nigeria, Raheemat Momodu, said the project aims at encouraging, monitoring as well
as partnering with the Nuhu Ribadu and Mustapha Akanbi-led anti-graft agencies .
Nigerians alone cannot keep tab on, and end the scourge of corruption in the country,
Momodu insisted, urging Nigerian journalists to double their efforts in reporting and
exposing corrupt practices in the society.
The IPC said one of the reasons behind setting up the anti-graft monitoring team is to
weed out corruption which has hindered transparency, accountability, openness, the
factors democracy requires to flourish.
Briefing newsmen at the launch of the campaign, the Project Coordinator, Lanre
Arogundade, said the first project would begin with monitoring the cases of the former
Inspector General of Police, Tafa Balogun, Fred Ajudua and former Managing Director
of the Bank of the North, Muhammed Bulama, all of whom are being prosecuted by the
EFCC. This would start from this month till October 1, 2006.
Others include training workshop for journalists and anti-corruption activists reporting,
the use of media in advocacy against corruption focusing, among others, on ethics of
corruption reporting, role of media groups in fighting corruption, etc.
Its operation would include "publication of bi-monthly anti-corruption summary (reports,
analysis, messages) in the print media to focus on judicial processes, assessment of
anti-corruption agencies, public perspectives on corruption, etc.
Publication of a quarterly journal, index on corruption to focus on developments in
tracking and curbing corruption, judicial, legislative and executive anti-corruption
decisions and polices, gender role in anti-corruption war".
The objectives, Arogundade stressed, are that the "project shall help to contribute
answers to a number of pertinent questions that are of public concern: How effective are
the anti-corruption agencies in the prosecution of the anti-corruption war? What are the
challenges they face and are there any obstacles militating against the effective
discharge of their duties and responsibility? What is the public perception of the anti-
corruption war and to what extent do the anti-corruption enjoy public confidence?"
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.independentng.com/news/nnsep020537.htm
*********************************************
2 SEP 2005
From the Daily Independent, a Nigerian newspaper:
Regulate cyber café activities, US advises Nigerian govt
By Sunny Igboanugo, Assistant Editor, Politics
The Federal Government has been urged to put measures in place to arrest the rising
incidents of cyber crimes in the country to curb is negative image abroad and enhance
business opportunities for its nationals and a fertile ground for more local investments.
Mr. Michael McGee, Commercial Counselor at the United States Embassy in Nigeria,
told reporters in Lagos this week that a lot of damage had been done to the credibility of
Nigeria as a result of the negative use to which few Nigerians have put the internet, a
means of communication that has brought a lot of positive changes in the world of
business and other inter-personal relationships.
"A lot of criminal activities go on in the cyber cafes, not because their owners are
contributors or collaborators, but because people come in and take advantage of it,
anonymously almost and do these kinds of activities. But if there are means in which
regulatory bodies in the country in charge of communications and Internet could utilise
technology to have a better hold and grasp of what is actually going on in these cyber
cafes, it would be able to clamp down on this," he said.
He said a lot of responsibilities actually lay with the greater part of the citizenry, who had
knowledge of these activities to also do their best in combating them, because of the
huge impact of the negative image of the country arising from the menace. "The country
suffers tremendously because of the negative image that is created by few people, what
we call in the United States, especially during an important period in our country, the
silent majority. They do not speak out, they do not report about what they know about
these kinds of things that are going on and demand that the judicial system, the law
enforcement prosecute these kind of people where they do find them", he added.
Much as the Internet technology appears to have been abused and enhanced the
sophistication in crimes, McGee would not support the abolition of cyber cafes in the
country, arguing that the advantages far surpassed the disadvantages. "I think that the
benefits that people have in communicating on economical matters, with their loved
ones, who may be in another city, who may be in another country, to be able to keep in
touch with them, send pictures, the internet has been able to make great impact in
fostering these and drawing people together. And many legitimate entities, who want to
do business in many countries, they use the medium, which is saving people money to
communicate, which is saving people money to be able to do business. It also brings
up small medium sized companies, small entrepreneurs, who would never have the
access to be able to grow and prosper, because they don’t just have the means. It is a
great equaliser in many ways.
And what we are talking about is a very small portion of what goes on through the
Internet. It is getting a lot of attention. It is creating a lot of problems. Countries are finding
ways to combat that. Each time they find a new way, the bad guys find another way to
deal with it. But that does not mean that we should abandon it. If walked outside today,
you would find all these things driving around in four wheels. They are causing a lot of
problems. Should we do away with them, should we go back to horse and buggy? I
don’t think so. We are moving forward and not backwards. It is impossible anyway."
He admitted however that the phenomenon was not limited to the Nigeria alone, adding
that a lot of the cases investigated had proven not to originate from Nigeria, adding that
the problem remained that the image had stuck to the country.
The US envoy also spoke on the need to curb the menace of piracy in the film industry
in the country adding that recently, he had a meeting a very prominent Nigerian who was
eager or to develop the industry, where the issue of piracy featured prominently.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.independentng.com/politics/ppsep020506.htm
***************************************
2 SEP 2005
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
40,000 Passports Seized in Oluwole Raid
10,000 blank British Airways tickets too
By Godwin Ifijeh and Eugene Agha
Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Sunday Ehindero, yesterday said over
40,000 Nigerian Passports, including official ones, were recovered during the recent
raid on Oluwole, a notorious area in Lagos Island noted for document forgery and
counterfeiting.
The IGP, who made the disclosure while briefing the press in Lagos said 1,500 foreign
passports, including those of Libya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo, Guinea Bissau,
Cameroon, Senegal, Switzer-land., the Gambia, South Africa, United States, Jamaica,
Costa Rica and Ghana were recovered. Also recovered from the raid were about 50,000
assorted foreign cheques and over 500 printing plates.
Other seizures made, according to Ehindero, include over 500 computers, about 10, 000
blank British Airways tickets, about 10, 000 United States Postal Money Order and blank
certificates of occupancy.
The IGP said 115 suspects were arrested. Seventy-seven of the suspects, he said,
were later set free for lack of sufficient evidence to warrant their detention.
Ehindero said the police, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and
the State Security Services (SSS) combined to conduct the Oluwole raid aimed at
dismantling the notorious criminal black spot, where all forms of stolen and forged
documents were openly traded in Central Lagos.
According to him, President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was concerned with the threat to
security by the nefarious activities going on in the area had directed that a committee,
comprising of the Police, the FCT Minister, SSS, Immigration and the EFCC clean up the
area and other similar locations, where counterfeiting and forgery were prevalent in
Lagos.
While giving other identified areas in Lagos as Shomolu, Apapa, City Hall and Bristol
Hotel, the IGP said these other areas were complementing, supporting and replicating
the illegal activities going on in Oluwole area.
He said the crack down on all such areas continues and that 38 other suspects were
arrested in Apapa on Wednesday after a container loaded with fake import clearing
documents, including Customs documents, seals and stamps was discovered outside
the Apapa Seaport.
He paraded all 76 suspects, including 17 ladies. He, however, indicted the Area
Commander, Area 'A' Command of the Lagos State Police Command and the DPO,
Ebute Ero Division in whose jurisdiction Oluwole falls. He expressed surprise that the
officers behaved as if they were not aware of its existence before now.
He warned members of the public to desist from assisting the syndicate at Oluwole
through patronage. He said anyone arrested in the area will be treated as an
accomplice to criminal activities.
According to him, patrons of forged documents were as culpable as their manufacturers
and vendors. He pointed out that carrying forged documents was a serious felony that
carries 14-year jail term. [The remainder of the article deals with matters other than 419]
419 Coalition note: Although this article does not mention 419 advance fee
fraud per se, of course forged documents etc. are of course part of the basic
infrastructure of many 419 operations, hence we have included this piece in
our News section.
************************************************
31 AUG 2005
From the Daily Independent, a Nigerian newspaper:
U.S. not impressed with EFCC
By Sunny Igboanugo
Asst Editor, Politics
Going by the position of the United States on Tuesday, Abuja’s high regard for
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for combating fraud appears
like pouring water on the back of a tortoise.
Like the proverbial barber’s chair, the achievements claimed to have been made by the
commission may be nothing more than all motion and no movement as America has
said Nigeria must do a lot more to clean the tar the menace has splashed on its image
over the years.
The position of the U.S. was conveyed at the Public Affairs Section (PAS) of its
consulate in Lagos, where its envoy, Michael L. McGee, told journalists at the weekly
press briefing that merely arresting people connected with such crimes is not enough
proof of the country’s seriousness to combat the phenomenon.
He said a situation where the EFCC has convicted only one person from the hundreds
brought to trial out of several arrests made in 419 related cases points to a flaw in
the system.
His words: "The EFCC and I have talked about it. They are doing a lot of good job.
But something is failing them in the entire process. I know that they have been working
diligently with the limited resources and funds that they have to try and combat it.
But they also need help."
"It is part of every citizen’s responsibility to contribute to this - by saying we
don’t accept this. That, because of my identity as a Nigerian and my country and my
nation, where I live and where I want my children to grow, this is not acceptable."
McGee said the image of the country would improve tremendously the moment high
calibre individuals are convicted.
"When you have hundreds of cases that were brought and you have thousands of
people that were investigated and you have one conviction from the EFCC, what does
that tell you? What does that make you think? I am not judging. I am just giving you
the findings."
McGee, the Commercial Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, reeled out figures
relating to 419.
He said the U.S. secret service receives more than 30,000 fraud cases involving
Nigerians every month, which has greatly impacted on the country’s image and
prevented a lot of Nigerians from doing legitimate business.
He explained: "I know legitimate business people here, hundreds and hundreds of them
who say I would have a new line of products to sell. I wrote to XYZ Company in the U.S.
or I sent them e-mail or I called them. As soon as they heard that I am from Nigeria, they
broke off communication. They are legitimate people and I had to go on their behalf to
say I know them."
McGee refused to be swayed by the allegation of the culpability of the U.S. and the
international community in the menace by allowing their countries as safe havens for
looters of Nigeria’s treasury - thereby impoverishing the citizens, who in turn rely
on such crimes to survive.
He argued that just as the U.S. is accountable and responsible to its citizens, Nigeria
should do the same.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.independentng.com/news/nnaug310505.htm
**********************************************
30 AUG 2005
From the Associated Press:
Fake Money Orders entering the U.S. from Canada and Nigeria
Large number of counterfeit money orders are entering the United States from Canada
and Nigeria, according to U.S. Postal Inspector Aaron Simon of Sioux Falls. [South Dakota]
He said $21 million in fake money orders have been seized in the United States in the
past year. Almost 300 fake money orders have been found in South Dakota, he said.
Some of them are being used to pay for goods from businesses, and some have been
given to people involved in online dating to cash for their suitor in another country,
Simon said.
On real money orders, USPS is not visible on the security strip unless it is held up. A
picture of Benjamin Franklin will appear in the watermark.
If the money order is held down, these items will not appear. On a fake money order,
USPS is legible when it is held down. And the watermark contains a picture of a man
who does not look like Franklin.
********************************************
27 AUG 2005
From the Punch, a Nigerian newspaper:
EFCC worried over visa lottery swindlers
Sesan Olufowobi
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said on Friday that it
was worried about the activities of some Nigerians involved in fake visa
lottery schemes.
An EFCC source told our correspondent in Lagos that the agency
discovered the scams through discreet investigations, adding that such
was a source of embarrassment to the country.
He said that at least five or six examples of the scams had come to
EFCC’s notice, stating that it would readily cooperate with any nation’s
security agencies which desired assistance in dealing with the
problem.
The EFCC source spoke in response to a red alert issued by the
Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) warning that some Nigerian
swindlers had been using a fraudulent Spanish visa lottery scheme to
dupe unsuspecting nationals of various countries, including the United
States.
The red alert, which was posted on FBI’s website, indicated that over
$24 million was being lost yearly to the swindlers, adding that the fake
scheme, which it termed "Nigeria Letter Scam," could open a new door
to future identity theft.
FBI said the swindlers usually operated by collecting the names and
addresses of targets, all outside Spain, through the Internet.
"Then you, the target, get a letter from the Spanish National Lottery
claiming you’ve won about $730,000 in a special promotional lottery. An
estimated six million letters are sent a year. The letters look legitimate,
complete with official logos and contact information. They also include
a form from the bank where the money is supposedly being held. You
might even receive follow-up faxes and phone calls.
Then the hook: all you have to do is pay Spanish taxes - between 0.5
per cent and 2 per cent of the winnings - to get the money. Just fax your
completed claim forms with personal and banking information and wire
the money within a couple of days. If you take the bait, chances are
you’ll be asked to cover other expenses, too," the warning said.
FBI said it had pursued the swindlers relentlessly in collaboration with
the Spanish National Police (SNP), disclosing that in July, Spanish
security agents "launched a massive crackdown that resulted in 300
arrests, 150 searches and the seizure of nearly 2,000 cell phones,
hundreds of computers and fax machines, plenty of fake documents
and $265,000 in cash."
It concluded, "We were delighted to be a part of their investigation,
working through our Madrid legal attache office and with our partners in the Federal
Trade Commission and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Our
task was to identify and interview possible U.S. victims by calling some
800 U.S. phone numbers from lists provided by the SNP."
**************************************
12 AUG 2005
Here is a good piece on Check Clearing 419 and Employment
419 From the July-August 2005 AARP Bulletin:
Scam Alert...Wireless Bank Heist
By Sid Kirchheimer
They have high-powered names - Xian Energy, Delta Soft Labs, International Health Care,
Future Tech, V-Tech Sendit Software - and they promise big rewards for little effort. But the only
reward for their victims is a depleted bank account.
Identifying themselves as top firms based overseas, the "companies" recruit work-at-home
representatives through e-mails and online job postings. They say that "due to the delays in
clearing checks and money orders in Europe," they need "financial agents" to process
payments for their U.S. orders.
It seemed the perfect job for Dick Hambrice, 67, a retired medical supplies salesman from
Columbus, Ga. After responding to a posting on Monster.com, he was told that each week he’d
receive checks for between $2,000 and $100,000 via FedEx. After depositing them in his own
bank account, all he had to do was wire-transfer those funds to a foreign bank. When each
check cleared, Hambrice would get a 5 percent commission.
"Since I live on Social Security, an additional $200 or $300 a week would really be helpful," says
Hambrice. "Especially for something as simple as going to the bank."
Instead, he lost $4,500. The check Hambrice received and put into his account was counterfeit.
So the money he transferred to a foreign account was in fact his own. "You’d think in these days,
a bank would know immediately whether a check is good or not," Hambrice says. "Apparently,
they don’t."
This type of check-cashing scheme generates hundreds of complaints each month to the
Internet Crime Complaint Center, says FBI spokesman Paul Bresson, and is one of the most
common Internet scams.
And one of the nastiest. The phony companies can further bleed recruits by using the account
information provided on their wire transfers. Victims in certain cases could face federal
counterfeiting and forgery charges for signing or processing bogus checks, says Bruce
Hammerle of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
His advice: "Be very wary of 'work-at-home' offers, especially those with any foreign
connection. Anytime you receive a check or money order and someone wants money wired
back, figure it’s a scam."
The swindlers seem to change their corporate identities every few months. The e-mail that
Delta Soft Labs sent to Diosdado Corrales, 57, of Toronto was identical to those sent to other
job seekers by Atrium and Rilan Soft Labs—all professing to be Eastern Europe’s leading
software developer, based in Russia. Initially, Corrales thought he was recruited because his
résumé, posted on CareerBuilder.com’s website, indicates he’s fluent in Russian. "Now I feel
used," he says, after losing $1,700 in two wire transfers.
Since being contacted by Scam Alert, CareerBuilder spokeswoman Jennifer Sullivan says
postings for those firms have been removed. An alert for job seekers tells them: Never provide
credit card or bank account information to recruiters, or perform any sort of monetary
transaction. "You don’t give the combination if you don’t want the safe opened," Sullivan says.
Here is the URL for as long as it is good:
http://www.aarp.org/bulletin/consumer/wireless_bank_heist.html
************************************
6 AUG 2005
From the Associated Press:
Internet scammers keep working in Nigeria
Day in, day out, a strapping, amiable 24-year-old who calls himself Kele B. heads to an Internet
cafe, hunkers down at a computer and casts his net upon the cyber-waters.
Blithely oblivious to signs on the walls and desks warning of the penalties for Internet fraud, he
has sent out tens of thousands of e-mails telling recipients they have won about $6.4 million in a
bogus British government ``Internet lottery.''
``Congratulation! You Are Our Lucky Winner!'' it says.
So far, Kele says, he has had only one response. But he claims it paid off handsomely. An
American took the bait, he says, and coughed up ``fees'' and ``taxes'' of more than $5,000,
never to hear from Kele again.
Festac Town, a district of Lagos where the scammers ply their schemes, has become notorious
for ``419 scams,'' named for the section of the Nigerian penal code that outlaws them.
In Festac Town, an entire community of scammers overnights on the Internet. By day they flaunt
their smart clothes and cars and hang around the Internet cafes, trading stories about
successful cons and near misses, and hatching new plots.
Festac Town is where communication specialists operating underground sell foreign telephone
lines over which a scammer can purport to be calling from any city in the world. Here lurk master
forgers and purveyors of such software as ``e-mail extractors,'' which can harvest e-mail
addresses by the million.
Now, however, a 3-year-old crackdown is yielding results, Nigerian authorities say.
Nuhu Ribadu, head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, says cash and assets
worth more than $700 million were recovered from suspects between May 2003 and June 2004.
More than 500 suspects have been arrested, more than 100 cases are before the courts and
500 others are under investigation, he said.
The agency won its first big court victory in May when Mike Amadi was sentenced to 16 years in
prison for setting up a Web site that offered juicy but phoney procurement contracts. Amadi
cheekily posed as Ribadu himself and used the agency's name. He was caught by an
undercover agent posing as an Italian businessman.
This month the biggest international scam of all - though not one involving the Internet - ended in
court convictions. Amaka Anajemba was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison and ordered to
return $25.5 million of the $242 million she helped to steal from a Brazilian bank.
The trial of four co-defendants is to start in September.
Why Nigeria? There are many theories. The nation of 130 million, Africa's most populous, is
well educated, and English, the lingua franca of the scam industry, is the official language.
Nigeria bursts with talent, from former NBA star Hakeem Olajuwon to Nobel literature laureate
Wole Soyinka.
But with World Bank studies showing a quarter of urban college graduates are unemployed,
crime offers tempting career opportunities - in drug dealing, immigrant-trafficking, oil-smuggling,
and Internet fraud.
The scammers thrived during oil-rich Nigeria's 15 years of brutal and corrupt military rule, and
democracy was restored only six years ago.
``We reached a point when law enforcement and regulatory agencies seemed nonexistent. But
the stance of the present administration has started changing that,'' said Ribadu, the scam-
busting chief.
President Olusegun Obasanjo is winning U.S. praise for his crackdown. Interpol, the FBI and
other Western law enforcement agencies have stepped in to help, says police spokesman
Emmanuel Ighodalo, and Nigerian police have received equipment and Western training in
combating Internet crime and money-laundering.
Experts say Nigerian scams continue to flood e-mail systems, though many are being blocked
by spam filters that get smarter and more aggressive. America Online Inc. Nicholas Graham
says Nigerian messages lack the telltale signs of other spam - such as embedded Web links -
but its filters are able to be alert to suspect mail coming from a specific range of Internet
addresses.
Also, the scams have a limited shelf life.
In the con that Internet users are probably most familiar with, the e-mailer poses as a corrupt
official looking for help in smuggling a fortune to a foreign bank account. E-mail or fax recipients
are told that if they provide their banking and personal details and deposit certain sums of
money, they'll get a cut of the loot.
But there are other scams, like the fake lotteries.
Kele B., who won't give his surname, says he couldn't find work after finishing high school in
2000 in the southeastern city of Owerri, so he drifted with friends to Lagos, where he tried his
hand at boxing.
Then he discovered the Web.
Now he spends his mornings in Internet cafes on secondhand computers with aged screens,
waiting ``to see if my trap caught something,'' he says.
Elekwa, a chubby-faced 28-year-old who also keeps his surname to himself, shows up in
Festac Town driving a Lexus and telling how he was jobless for two years despite having a
diploma in computer science.
His break came four years ago when the chief of a fraud gang saw him solve what seemed like
``a complex computer problem'' at a business center in the southeastern city of Umuahia and
lured him to Lagos.
He won't talk about his scams, only about their fruits: ``Now I have three cars, I have two houses
and I'm not looking for a job anymore.''
************************************
21 JUL 2005
This in from Ultrascan in the Netherlands, reporting
the arrest of 310 West Africans, including many Nigerians,
mainly for for Lottery 419, in Malaga, Spain - in Dutch:
310 West-Afrikanen opgepakt bij grootscheepse loterijfraude
De Spaanse politie heeft naar aanleiding van een grootscheepse fraude 310 West-Afrikanen opgepakt. De West-Afrikanen
worden ervan verdacht jaarlijks ongeveer 20.000 mensen te hebben opgelicht voor meer dan 100 miljoen euro door hen te
vertellen dat ze de hoofdprijs van een loterij hadden gewonnen.
De meeste van de verdachten die worden vastgehouden in de zuidelijke provincie Malaga zijn Nigerianen, anderen zijn
afkomstig uit Ghana. In totaal namen meer dan 400 politiemannen deel aan de huiszoekingen, die werden uitgevoerd op meer
dan 170 adressen.
Meer dan zes miljoen brieven of e-mails
Minstens twee verdachten moesten voor verzorging naar het ziekenhuis, nadat ze in een poging om te vluchten uit het raam
waren gesprongen.
Volgens de politie stuurden de verdachten jaarlijks meer dan zes miljoen brieven of e-mails naar mensen in Europa, de
Verenigde Staten, Canada, Australië, Japan en Arabische landen. In die brieven stond dat de geadresseerden de hoofdprijs
van een loterij hadden gewonnen. Aan hen werd gevraagd of ze geld wilden opsturen om de belastings- en documentskosten
te betalen. De oplichters zouden in ongeveer 50 landen actief zijn geweest.
Vorig jaar rolde de Spaanse politie nog 31 Spaanse bendes op, 100 verdachten werden opgepakt. Begin dit jaar werden 30
andere Nigerianen opgepakt op verdenking van verschillende soorten fraud
*************************************************
21 JUL 2005
Here is an English version of the above story from The Register
in the UK:
Biggest 419 bust in history
By Jan Libbenga
The FBI and Spanish police have arrested 310 people in Malaga, Spain in connection with a
€100m bogus (email) lottery scam run by Nigerian gangs. It is the biggest 419 bust in history,
and may result in drastic reductions of scam mails.
The operation, codenamed Nile, centered on a mob which operated from Southern Spain. No
less than four hundred officers from the Spanish police, the FBI and the US Postal Service were
involved with the investigation, which began in 2003. Officers raided 166 homes in places such
as Malaga, Benalmádena, Mijas, Torremolinos and Marbella. Police seized € 218,000 in cash,
2,000 mobile telephones, 327 computers and 165 fax machines.
Besides lottery emails, they also sent over 6 million 'classic' 419 scam mails, offering rewards
for people who were willing to stash away money that had been taken out of Iraq by the family of
the ex-dictator Saddam Hussein or money founds in the remains of the Twin Towers after the
9/11 attacks.
The scam claimed over 20,000 victims in 45 countries including Britain, France, Germany, the
US, Canada, Australia, Japan and a number of Arabic countries, officials said.
As police will continue searching for more clues - officials are still trying to determine where the
funds have been deposited - the number of scam emails may drop considerably. Similar raids
on premises in Amsterdam early 2004 saw a rapid migration of Nigerians to other countries.
Here is the URL for as long as it is good:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/07/21/scammers_nabbed/
**********************************************************
20 JUL 2005
From the Daily Independent, a Nigerian newspaper:
Anajemba: Obasanjo hails Ribadu, demands more convictions
By Chesa Chesa, State House Correspondent, Abuja
President Olusegun Obasanjo has commended the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),
Nuhu Ribadu, for ensuring the successful conviction of Mrs Amaka Martina Anajemba, who was involved in the country’s
biggest advance fee fraud case.
Anajemba and four others were dragged to court by the EFCC for defrauding some Brazilians of about $242 Million, and was
last week jailed two and half years for the crime by a Lagos High Court.
In a commendation letter to Ribadu, the President said the conviction was the result of quality leadership of the EFCC boss,
which showed in quality work and dedication to duty. He challenged the EFCC team not to rest on its oars but get more
convictions.
Obasanjo told the crime-buster that "the painstaking investigation and presentation of evidence before the Lagos High Court
secured for you not just jail terms but the seizure by the court of all her (Anajemba’s) assets".
He described the achievement as "evidence of quality work, dedication to duty, focused deployment of skills and quality
leadership," adding, however, that "this victory should energise you to work harder and to attain greater heights and more
conviction".
Obasanjo noted that the EFCC had within a few years of its existence "made an indelible mark in the fight against corruption.
Our goal is to continue with this fight in the interest of our present and future".
He further pledged his administration’s "undiluted support” to the EFCC in the “determined efforts to rid the country of all forms
of corruption".
419 Coalition note: Other Nigerian newspapers, including ThisDay and
Vanguard also covered this story. 419 Coalition is also glad of the
conviction, of course, looks forward to the repatriation of the 419ed
monies, and for more convictions and repatriations in the near future.
********************************
17 JUL 2005
From Reuters:
Nigeria jails woman, Amaka Anajemba, in $242 mln email fraud case
A Nigerian court has sentenced a woman to two and half years in jail after she pleaded guilty to fraud charges in the country's
biggest e-mail scam case, the anti-fraud agency said on Saturday.
Amaka Anajemba, one of three suspects in a $242 million fraud involving a Brazilian bank, would return $48.5 million to the
bank, hand over $5 million to the government and pay a fine of 2 million nair agency said.
Scams have become so successful in Nigeria that anti-sleaze campaigners say swindling is one of the country's main foreign
exchange earners after oil, natural gas and cocoa.
Anajemba's sentencing by a Lagos High Court on Friday is the first major conviction since the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) was established in 2003 to crack down on Nigeria's thriving networks of email fraudsters.
The agency said in a statement that the judgment was "a landmark achievement by EFCC in the fight against advance fee
fraud, corruption and other related crimes."
Typically fraudsters send out junk e-mails around the world promising recipients a share in a fortune in return for an advance
fee. Those who pay never receive the promised windfall.
Anajemba, whose late husband masterminded the swindling of the Sao Paolo-based Banco Noroeste S.A. between 1995 and
1998, was charged along with Emmanuel Nwude and Nzeribe Okoli.
The prosecution said the three accused obtained the $242 million by promising a member of the bank staff a commission for
funding a non-existent contract to build an airport in Nigeria's capital Abuja.
All three accused pleaded not guilty, but Anajemba later changed her mind to enter a guilty plea in order to receive a shorter
senten was backdated )y 2004 when she was first taken in custody. The trial of the two others who
maintained their not guilty pleas was adjourned to September.
Ranked the world's second most corrupt country after Bangladesh by sleaze watchdog Transparency International, Nigeria
has given new powers to the EFCC which is prosecuting about 200 fraud and corruption cases.
The anti-fraud agency has arrested over 200 junk mail scam suspects since 2003. It says it has also confiscated property
worth $200 million and secured 10 other convictions. ($1-132.70 Naira)
Most Nigerian papers also covered this, including:
Thisday: http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=22775
419 Coalition Comment: Kudos to the EFCC Team, including Nuhu Ribadu, Ibrahim
Lamorde, Rotimii Jacobs, and all the many others who worked to get this conviction.
We re hoping, of course, for many other convictions to follow and for the repatriation
of the monies 419ed by those convicted of their crimes.
******************************************
11 JUL 2005
From The Citizen, Auburn New York, (edited):
Money scams abound on Web
By Louise Hoffman Broach / The Citizen
"My name is Engr Dantata Williams," the e-mail begins. "I am the chairman of a contract awarding committee for the past three
years, with patrol Ivoire, which is a national oil firm.....the late military head of state asked me to prepare a voucher for
$45,500,000 US......."
The unsolicited correspondence and dozens of similar e-mails endeavor to entice the recipients to assist the senders in
getting money into the United States and offer a cut for the help. Williams purports to be from the Ivory Coast, but pleas for
assistance to come from virtually every African country, the majority from Nigeria.
Williams' letter is a scam, according to local and federal law enforcement authorities. It is a variation of letters proliferating
the Internet authored by the alleged wives and children of deceased dictators, lawyers left in charge of large sums of money
by people with no next of kin, business officials who suddenly find themselves with access to bank accounts belonging to past
clients, and even people on their deathbeds, wanting to atone for past wrongdoing so they can earn a place in heaven.
"They are all scams," said Michael Kaste, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Albany who works on
Internet crime. "I am not aware of any of these paying anyone any money. They just don't."
Law enforcement agencies categorize the e-mails as Nigerian 419 scams. Most of them originate in that West African nation.
They used to come through the mail, then by fax machine, and with the technology the Internet allows, they come most
frequently over e-mails. Scammers buy lists of millions of addresses and send the letters. The majority of people who receive
them recognize them for what they are, but there's a segment of the population who respond, get hooked in and bilked out of
money, Kaste said.
Nigeria - The 419 Coalition Web site, has been monitoring the scams almost 10 years. Its coordinator, Charles A. Pascale, a
Virginia security officer, estimates the scam has run since the 1980s and has cheated people out of billions.
Auburn Police Deputy Chief Thomas Murphy said the department doesn't get a lot of reports about the letters, but when they
do, they tell people not to respond and to delete them.
"It's been said many times, but if something sounds too good to be true, it is," Murphy said.
Dale Miskall is a supervisory special agent in charge of an FBI cybercrime squad in Birmingham, Ala. He's been working
Nigerian scams for the Internet Fraud Complaint Center for years and has been in Nigeria several times to help officials in that
country set up procedures to catch and prosecute the scammers.
Cooperation in that country is just beginning, although the scam letters have been around for decades. Nigeria is finally waking
up to the fact that the fraud has become so pervasive that legitimate companies in that country are having trouble attracting
overseas investors, law enforcement officials said.
In 2002, the Nigerian government created the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, according to its Web site, fight "the
menace of these crimes." The commission has high-level support from the presidency, the Legislature and key security and
law enforcement agencies in Nigeria.
Cayuga County Sheriff Rob Outhouse said a Weedsport firm fell for an electronic overseas fraud, but it wasn't a solicitation
letter. Outhouse said the company received a large order for parts that originated from a Third World country. The credit card
number given was valid, so the company filled the order. But shortly after, the card was reported stolen and the company was
out the money, and the parts.
"They should have been suspicious," Outhouse said. "Why would someone in a Third World country be contacting someone
in Weedsport?"
There are many variations to international Internet scams. Miskall said the biggest one is the repackaging scam where a
bogus company will advertise on Monster.com for someone to receive packages from overseas and then mail them along to
someone else. When the "employer" makes payment, it comes in a check for more than the amount owed. The check writer
will ask that the "employee" write a check, or wire money back for the difference, even offering that person a chance to keep a
little of the overage. After that occurs, it ultimately turns out the original check was bad.
A recent variation is a letter from so-called lottery officials in Spain or the Netherlands, notifying the recipient they have won
millions, but there was a mix-up that must be cleared up first. Usually, it involves sending money.
While no one has reported falling for the scam in Cayuga County, it doesn't mean it hasn't happened.
People may be too embarrassed to admit they were victimized or in the case of the 419 letters, they don't want to admit they
may have attempted a felony and got bilked instead.
Even the people who work for law enforcement aren't immune from receiving scam e-mail. Murphy said he regularly gets 419-
type letters. He can tell what they are from the subject line, and promptly deletes them.
Miskall, in spite of all of his work to expose Nigerian Internet scammers, also gets solicitation letters, including one from an
agency purporting to be the Nigerian space program.
"Did you know the first person in space was a Nigerian, and that he's still up there?" Miskall said.
"They want money to help bring him home. He's in their space station and they shoot him up food and supplies once in a
while."
Staff writer Louise Hoffman Broach can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or louise.hoffman@lee.net
**************************************************
7 JUL 2005
From The Guardian, a Nigerian newspaper:
Nigerian fraudsters have moved to W'African nations, says EFCC
By Alex Olise
CHOKING under the onslaught of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigerian fraudsters have shifted
their operations to nearby West African countries.
According to sources in the EFCC, in the last two months, detectives arrested 250 youths on their way to Togo and Burkina
Faso with various documents belonging to the Federal Government.
They normally used these documents to defraud foreigners.
A senior official of the EFCC said that efforts were on to work with the crimes departments of those countries with a view to
arresting Nigerian fraudsters there.
He said the Chairman of the EFCC, Alhaji Nuhu Ribadu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), had directed crack
detectives to monitor fraudsters who move into nearby countries for nefarious businesses.
An investigation by The Guardian revealed that fraudsters who have made huge sums of money in Nigeria now send their
boys to other West African nations and open offices with sophisticated computers and Internet facilities which they use to dupe
foreigners.
In the 1990s, one of the major strategies used to trick foreigners was to write different companies through their managing
directors or chief executives, offering various contracts.
But fraudsters now use the Internet to dupe their victims. They sell oil blocks and buy computers and cars with fake credit
cards.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been placing international adverts, advising foreigners to avoid communicating with
any Nigerian who gives big proposal of contracts on the Internet.
419 Coalition note: Not exactly sure what the EFCC was trying to say here,
but Nigerian 419ers have been operating from neighboring African countries
and indeed from Europe - notably Amsterdam and London - and from Canada
and elsewhere for many years. No matter where the 419ers operate "branch
offices" from, the Home Office for them remains Nigeria. However, the arrest
of these 250 alleged young 419ers is of course good news to be sure.
*************************************************************
14 JUN 2005
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
$242m Scam: GOK Ajayi Returns to Trial
Appeal Court strikes out EFCC application
By Abimbola Akosile and Wunmi Yusuf
Twenty-seven days after walking out of an Ikeja High Court-room in protest,
Chief Godwin Olusegun Kolawole Ajayi (SAN) lead counsel to one of 3
accused persons standing trial in a $242 million advance fee fraud yesterday
re-appeared before trial judge, Justice Olubunmi Oyewole.
Though his application for stay of proceedings in the lower court was struck out
at the Court of Appeal. Further hearing was adjourned till Tuesday, June 21.
Accused persons, being prosecuted by Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) include Chief Emmanuel Nwude, Mrs. Amaka Anajemba,
(2nd accused) and Mr. Nzeribe Edeh Okoli (3rd accused), who are facing a
fresh trial in a 9-month case, which began on October 5 last year and was
stalled over the ill-health of the 1st accused.
Upon resumption of proceedings at the court yesterday, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs,
lead prosecution counsel said "today's matter was adjourned for report on
proceedings at the Court of Appeal. Application for stay was refused by the
court and accordingly struck out on Monday, June 13. The only impediment
against the hearing of this case has been removed. We therefore demand
accelerated hearing dates".
Jacobs' application on the trial dates resulted in various responses from the
defence counsel present. While Chief Ajayi concurred to his request in a quiet
voice saying, "if that is the understanding, then let trial dates be fixed", Chief
Chris Uche (SAN) counsel to Anajemba (2nd accused) however urged the
court to adjourn further hearing till Wednesday (today), while pointing out the
plight of his client.
However, both Mr. Adeshina Ogunlana, counsel to Edeh-Okoli (3rd accused),
and Chief Emmanuel Ofolue, who appeared with Ajayi and also represented
Emyrus Nigeria Limited (5th accused person), sought a longer adjournment for
different reasons. Ofolue, who moved and withdrew the motion at the appellate
court, wanted a date in July for convenience, while Adeshina claimed he was
yet to get records of proceedings in the matter, and wanted time to go through
before trial resumes.
Justice Oyewole, who sought clarification on the case at the Court of Appeal
among other things, thereafter adjourned the matter till June 21 and reiterated
an order for accelerated trial; calling on all counsel in the matter to cooperate to
ensure a speedy trial.
First arraigned in Abuja on February 4, 2004, the accused persons were
alleged to have defrauded a Brazilian banker, Mr. Nelson Sakaguchi of the
sum of $242 million over a three-year period, from April 2, 1995 to January 20,
1998 at Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos State, contrary to Sections 1(1)(a) and (3) of the
Advance Fee Fraud Act of 1995 as amended by Act 62 of 1998.
Obtained amount was said to represent payment due to the Federal
Government on the alleged contract No. FMA/132/019/82 for the construction of
Abuja International Airport, Nigeria. Penalties for each of the counts range
between seven and ten years. The accused persons are facing a fresh 98
count charge, with twelve additional counts.
Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=20071
The Nigerian newspapers Vanguard and the Guardian,
among others, also covered the story.
**************************************
10 JUN 2005
Dateline NBC did an excellent and lengthy piece on 419 in a
segment called Dateline: On the Hunt.
In this piece, the reporter followed a 419 scam from the receipt
of the 419 solicitation letter to arranging and attending a meeting
with the 419ers which was recorded on video and presented on the
program. These sort of sting operations have been done before, of
course, by both the electronic and the print media (Brian Wizard's
novel Game Over is a particularly good example of this) and of
course it is riveting each time since each time is unique in its
details. This Dateline piece was exceptionally well done both
in content and in video production in the view of 419 Coalition.
Kudos to Dateline and NBC for this excellent work!
There was one puzzling aspect in the piece, however. It was
stated several times that Dateline had been told by authorities
etc. (we were not clear on whom) that running sting operations
from receipt of 419 solicitation through meet with the 419ers
was not possible. This is, quite simply, not the case as anyone
who deals with 419 on a regular basis knows quite well.
In fact, sting operations like the one run by Dateline are very
possible and could be run Daily by any authority in any country
with the desire to do so and by any media in any country with
the desire to do so. Victims meet with 419ers quite often, and
anyone pretending to be a victim can do the same. (The USSS
does not recommend that "regular people" meet with 419ers
for any reason, as 419 is no game and one could end up
dead). But can meetings be Arranged without any problem
and media or law enforcement ringers used at those meetings?
You betcha. It's been possible since day one.
The problems with this approach, which 419 Coalition has
been recommending for 13 years now, are that the authorities
say that they do not have the budget or the manpower to
do these things. They also say they are worried about the
safety of their agents. They also imply that in this post 9/11
world they have other things to do with the limited resources
they have, which is true enough.
But, to say that it is "not possible" for law enforcement in the
US and elsewhere to run sting ops and takedowns on 419ers
and "catch" the 419ers (as indicated in the Dateline piece)
is neither accurate nor true so whoever told them that is
either "blowing smoke" for one reason or another, or there
has been some confusion somewhere along the line on
this point.
If the G would like these things done regularly, it can feel
free to charter 419 Coalition to do such stings, we'd be very
happy to run such ops on a daily basis for it :) We told them
that over a decade ago. It is not a problem. South Africa
already does something rather like that with its 419Legal
program.
The video news piece also had a very good companion print
piece posted up on the Dateline MSNBC web site, here it is:
Nigerian scams keep evolving
How to spot the latest variations and avoid being duped
By Bob Sullivan
Technology correspondent
MSNBC
Pam Krause of Almond, Wis., thought she was helping out a desperate mother in West Africa.
Instead, she lost $18,000 to an elaborate, high-tech swindle, one of the many variations of the
so-called "Nigerian scams."
The most familiar Nigerian scam is an e-mail offering lots of free money in exchange for helping
someone with a name like Barrister Richard Okoya. The offer varies, but the theme is the same
help a downtrodden victim recover a large sum of money trapped in an overseas bank, and
you will be rewarded handsomely.
For most, the e-mails are the butt of jokes and evoke a "Who would ever fall for that?" reaction.
You'd be surprised, says Dale Miskall, supervisory special agent in charge of an FBI
cybercrime squad in Birmingham, Ala. He's been working Nigerian scams for the Internet
Fraud Complaint Center for years; in January, he went to Nigeria to testify against suspects after
a rare arrest.
There are now so many flavors of Nigerian scams, they are harder and harder to recognize, he
said. Many even avoid the trademark details: the barrister, the overseas bank, or even the
typical up-front wire payment.
"(Nigerians) are just great at social engineering. They keep finding new victims," Miskall said.
"And Americans are very gullible."
There are plenty of variations on the traditional scam. Nigerians apparently keep up with the
news. In 2001, instead of a Nigerian barrister, the missing money belonged to an Iraqi national,
persecuted under Saddam Hussein. The year before, it was family of victims of the Concorde
plane crash. Earlier this year, it was a tsunami victim; then, a U.S. solider killed in Iraq
during the war on terror. Anything to get an edge, or to catch victims with their guard down.
"This really is one of the worst e-mail scams we've ever seen, targeting the families of
American soldiers killed in Iraq," said Michael Garcia, an assistant secretary with the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, about the Iraq solider e-mail. "This is really
despicable."
Can’t count on cashier’s checks
But Nigerian scams stretch far wider than e-mails asking for help moving money out of
international accounts. In a much more elaborate version of the crime, scammers participate in
legitimate online auctions, finish with the high bid, and send along a check to pay for the
winnings.
The payment often arrives as a cashier's check, thought to be good as cash by many U.S.
residents. It's not.
The criminal sends more than the winning amount and asks for some to be wired back. When
victims apparently successfully deposit the cashier's check, they figure the buyer is legit, and
wire the overage, often to a bank account in Nigeria. Weeks later, the bank discovers the
cashier's check is bogus, and the depositor is responsible for the missing funds. Often, the
victim is out both the merchandise and the money.
In another variation, Nigerians offer to donate money to charities they find online; then, they
follow the same tactic. A too-big check is sent and a partial refund requested.
The key to the continuing Nigerian success, Miskall says, is the ingenuity and adaptability of
the scam artists. Many Americans have come to realize that wiring money overseas is a bad
idea. So several years ago, Nigerians started recruiting U.S. residents as go-betweens, so
they’d be able to ask victims to send money or packages to U.S. addresses.
Online classified services like Monster.com are now full of job offers for what are listed as "re-
shipping" firms. Requirements of the job are simple: accepting goods or money and
transferring them out of state. Employees get to keep a whopping 10 or 15 percent of
everything they ship. But of course, it's a scam. Thousands of people have fallen victim to re-
shipping scams, according to the United States Postal Inspection Service.
Nigerians have adapted to the popular Craigslist service, too. Landlords are contacted by
potential tenants, who offer to pay an up-front deposit by check. Once the bait is taken, the
renter asks for a return of some of the money or, at times, all of it, claiming a promised visa
from the U.S. government didn't arrive in time. Colleges around the country have warned
students about the scam.
Seduction for money
An even more insidious version involves Internet seduction. Scam artists lurk in chat rooms with
names like "40 and single," or "Recently dumped." They reach out to a lonely woman, send
flowers or candy, purchased with a stolen credit card. Eventually, they convince the new
girlfriend to do them a big favor - help transfer funds out of the bank.
A recent scam revealed by MSNBC.com combined several of these elements. A California
non-profit agency received a $3,000 check as a donation, but the donor asked for $2,000 to be
wired back to Nigeria. Meanwhile, the con artists used the non-profit's bank account information
to draft nearly $10,000 in fraudulent checks. They were sent to a woman in Alabama, who
cashed them at her bank and wired the money to a person she thought was her new Internet
boyfriend. When MSNBC called the woman, she was still convinced the man was simply
working on assignment in Lagos, Nigeria, where she had sent the money. The woman had
recently gotten divorced.
"There are a lot of lonely people out there," Miskall said. "And love on the Internet is blind."
Con artists from Nigeria even take advantage of the Internet Relay system for the deaf to trick
consumers and merchants. Special services allow the deaf to use Web pages to connect with
specially trained operators, who place telephone calls on their behalf and act as translators.
Several relay operators say the system is often abused by criminals - many from Nigeria - who
use it to place free international phone calls. Also, the fact that a relay operator is placing the
call can put merchants off their guard. Some fall for the ploy, and find themselves shipping
Bibles or wedding dresses to Nigeria, anything that can be sold for a small profit.
Nigerians have even gone so far as to create fake banks on the Internet, which appear to be
loaded with the alleged missing money. The sites might convince a skeptical consumer that
there really is $4 million sitting unclaimed in an account somewhere.
The Postal Inspection Service says authentic-looking fake money orders are also becoming
common.
The Nigerians’ persistence seems to know no bounds. Ad-hoc bands of consumers frustrated
by the ongoing scams are fighting back by answering scam e-mails and sending criminals on
false leads, a practice know as scam baiting. But Nigerians have even used fraud fighters to
commit cons. In a recent e-mail, scammers have tried to trick people who want to support the
activities of anti-scam site 419legal.com.
"It has come to the attention of 419legal that a group of scammers have been using the name of
419legal and the South African Police Service (SAPS) in scam letters," the site says. Of course,
the e-mail says the agency is trying to raise funds to fight ... Nigerian scams.
While many of these tricks might sound obvious, Miskell says, the key to Nigerians' success is
persistence. Their plot keeps morphing, and as consumers become educated, the storyline is
altered. But there is one constant theme: an overseas wire transfer.
Ultimately, whatever yarn is spun, all the scams come down to getting a consumer to send
money via a wire transfer overseas - often to Nigeria, but sometimes to Canada or another
foreign country. It's never a good idea to wire money, particularly out of the country, Miskell
said.
Avoiding wire transfers would put a big dent in the success of Nigerian scams
Other advice for consumers:
* Use Google. Dozens of sites now index large lists of names and other elements of Nigerian
scams. If unsure, put parts of the story into the Google search engine and click. If it's a scam,
it's likely someone else on the Internet will have published a complaint.
* Use the telephone. Nigerians will be very reluctant to give out a phone number and will try to
negotiate most of the transaction over e-mail. That buys them time to answer hard questions.
Asking for a phone number up front, along with other specific contact information that can be
verified, will short-circuit many scams.
* Verify the legitimacy of a bank. The FDIC maintains a database of federally insured banks on
its Web site.
* Always use a credit card. Consumers have wide protection when paying for Internet-based
transactions with a credit card. Checks are easily forged - even cashier's checks, sometimes
called bank checks. U.S. consumers think they are guaranteed. Banks can take up to two
weeks to confirm authenticity of a cashier's check, according to the American Bankers
Association - even if the funds are made available to the depositor. If a check doesn't check
out, the bank will take its money back. The consumer will be on the hook for any withdrawals
made against that deposited amount.
Here is the URL of this piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8171053/
******************************************
8 JUN 2005
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
419: Court Grants Ajudua Bail on Health Grounds
By Gboyega Akinsanmi,
Justice Sybil Nwaka of the Lagos High Court, Igbosere, has finally granted Chief Fred Ajudua
bail, at the instance of his deterioriating health condition.
Justice Nwaka said it was necessary and indispensable to grant the accused person bail,
because his state of health grew worse daily and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH)
was not good enough to ensure and guarantee him sound health.
"Having listened to the submissions of both counsels, I personally visited LUTH and observed
with dismay, the deplorable condition of the hospital. And such will not promote the accused
person's good health in any sense.
"This is the third time bail application is brought before this court. I will rather prefer a healthy
person to stand trial before me and in this circumstance, it is reasonable enough to temper
justice with mercy," she said.
While the judge adjourned the matter till September 22, she said the accused person was
granted bail to the tune of N10 million with two sureties, and his wife who has landed property
within the jurisdiction of the court.
Counsel to the state, Mrs Omotola Rotimi, however, argued at the proceedings that the court
should deny Ajudua bail, because the offence he committed was so serious that he might jump
bail in the long run.
She said in the alternative, the state had consulted management of St. Nicholas Hospital
whether it would admit the accused with the condition that security operatives would keep
surveillance on its premise for the period he would be treated.
She said the doctor, who signed the medical report attached to the counter affidavit denied the
averment in the affidavit of the accused person that management of St Nicholas was averse to
the presence of security men around its premise.
"The management of St. Nicholas Hospital has obliged us this request, and shown a high level
of willingness to admit and render qualitative medical treatment. So the applicant does not have
to be on bail before he can undergo or access first-class treatment while in custody.
"Since St. Nicholas is not averse to the presence of the security men around the hospital, the
accused person does not deserve bail before having access to standard medical treatment in
the country or elsewhere.
"My lord, our position is very clear. St Nicholas did not say they cannot treat him while in
custody. Since its management has conceded to this condition, does not deny access to
standard medical treatment. I urge your lordship to dismiss his application detention", She
argued.
Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=19541
Similar articles also appeared in the Guardian and other
Nigerian newspapers.
419 Coalition Comment: Fast Freddie strikes again....
********************************
1 JUN 2005
From the Philippine Star newspaper:
Manila, Phillipines: 4 Nigerians caught in bogus money scam
By Nestor Etolle
The Western Police District (WPD) scored a major victory against organized crime with the
neutralization of counterfeit and drug syndicates in separate police operations.
In a media presentation yesterday, WPD director Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong
identified the foreign members of a counterfeit syndicate as Nigerians Friday Nwoke, Ikenna
Agbaegbu, Ugum Igbunam and Henry Obina Nwani.
The foreigners are accused of luring prospective victims in bogus business deals using
counterfeit money as their capital, Bulaong said.
The arrested members of a drug syndicate were identified as Nassif Abbas, Jamal Bubong
and Binladen Pangandamu, all natives of Mindanao. Seized from the group were 35 plastic
packs of suspected shabu weighing two kilos with a street value of P2 million.
Bulaong said the arrest of the Nigerians was based on the complaint of Josefina Espino, a
hardware store owner in Quiapo, Manila.
Espino told police that Igbunam came to her store and ordered a container load of welding
rods worth P8.9 million, instructing her that the finance minister of Nigeria would pay for the
cargo.
A phone call supposedly coming from the Nigerian finance minister asked the victim for her
bank account number where the payment will be coursed through.
The victim sensed the sting when another call was made, this time coming from a diplomatic
agent from Nigeria, telling her that a package from the finance minister of their country is arriving
and that the victim has to shoulder the $1,800 airfreight.
Police soon conducted a stakeout operation at the Manila Hotel where the delivery of the
package would take place, resulting in the arrest of the four Nigerian suspects. Authorities
recovered from the foreigners a box containing bundles of blackened cut-out bills, chemicals,
instruction manuals and an authentic $100 bill.
Police said the suspects tell their prospective victims that the chemicals could change the
paper into genuine dollar bills.
******************************************
21 MAY 2005
From The Punch, a Nigerian newspaper:
EFCC records first conviction
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Friday recorded its first
conviction when Justice Morenike Obadina of an Ikeja High Court sentenced
one Mike Amadi aka Nuhu Ribadu to 10 years imprisonment for advanced fee
fraud.
A statement faxed to Saturday Punch by EFCC said Amadi was arraigned on a
five-count charge consisting of attempt to obtain money by false pretence,
obtaining money by false pretence, uttering and forgery.
He was also said to have attempted to swindle one Fabians Fajans of the sum
of $125,000 last year in Lagos and forged some documents, including the
Central Bank’s Internatonal Payment Schedule.
[The article goes on to discuss unrelated matters]
419 Coalition Comment: At last! We hope it is the first of
many convictions of 419ers, and also that the monies Amadi stole
have been recovered and repatriated to his victims. This is,
of course, the first new conviction in Nigeria of a 419er since
at least 1999; there have been only a couple of dozen in
the entire 20 year run of 419 advance fee fraud operations.
However, there are several more cases brought by the EFCC
currently in the courts, let us hope that this conviction
sets a precedent for those cases as well. Kudos to the EFCC
for getting its first 419er conviction!
***************************************
17 MAY 2005
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
‘Medical Report on Ajudua's Health Unreliable’
By Gboyega Akinsanmi
On-going hearing in the charge of advance free fraud against Chief Fred Ajudua was yesterday
stalled as the prosecution counsel, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, told the court that the medical report
tendered before it over the state of health of the accused person was not reliable enough.
Rotimi said while responding to Ajudua's application for bail, that the state could not hinge its
defence on the said medical report because there was no proven evidence to show that the
accused person's health was actually debilitating and worsening as portrayed before the court.
"We cannot," according to her, "depend on this report for lack of hard facts. As a result of this,
the state has concluded to conduct a more independent, reliable and dependable medical test
in order to know the truth about the accused person's state of health."
"The report of the yet-to-be-conducted medical test will no doubt determine our response to
Ajudua's application in which he is asking the court for bail on health ground. My lord, we are
asking for a return date to enable us conduct our own test and respond accordingly to the bail
application," she said.
Counsel to the accused person, Mr. Richard Oma Uhanaruogho, however said the response of
Rotimi constituted an infringement on the right of the accused person to bail because the current
18-count charge preferred against him was a bailable one.
"My lord, the state of health of the accused person is continually worsening and debilitating
because he is suffering from chronic kidney problem or failure.
He deserves bail at this point in time to enable him go for more intensive and comprehensive
medical treatment.
"The life of the accused person is very central to this suit. If the court continues to deny him
access to a more intensive and comprehensive medical treatment, it may result in anything
since he can no longer stand the pains he is currently undergoing. The court is expected to
move fast on this issue irrespective of any constraint," he said.
Here is the URL of the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=17482
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17 MAY 2005
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
$242m Scam: New Counsel Stalls Trial
By Abimbola Akosile
Continuation of trial in a $242 million advance fee fraud case involving three accused persons
was yesterday stalled for two days before an Ikeja High Court judge, Justice Olubunmi
Oyewole to allow a new defence counsel prepare adequately for the trial of his client.
Accused persons being prosecuted by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)
include Chief Emmanuel Nwude, Mrs. Amaka Anajemba, (2nd accused) and Mr. Nzeribe Edeh
Okoli (3rd accused), who are facing a de novo (fresh) trial in an 8-month old matter, which began
on October 5 and was stalled over alleged ill-health of the 1st accused, Nwude.
Upon resumption of trial yesterday, Mr. Adeshina Ogunlana, new counsel to Okoli (3rd
accused), pleaded with the presiding judge on the newness of his brief (enlisted on May 10) but
urged court to grant him a short adjournment to enable him peruse the charges filed against his
client and prepare before a new date.
His application was supported by Chief G. O. K. Ajayi (SAN), counsel to Nwude, who informed
court about a new application he has filed on May 13, asking for stay of proceedings in the
lower court pending the determination of an appeal filed at the Court of Appeal on the instant
matter.
Opposing both applications, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, prosecution counsel, insisted that the
applications were part of defence team's moves to further delay trial in a matter which has been
stalled since October last year.
He expressed his readiness to go on with the trial as planned and that his witnesses, who were
bankers, were in court to testify on the alleged fraud.
Justice Oyewole, in his ruling, refused to grant a stay of proceedings in the matter pending an
appellate court decision as canvassed by Ajayi, though he agreed that Okoli has a right to new
counsel who must be adequately prepared for trial. He however granted a short two-day
adjournment in continuation of trial till May 18. The trial was earlier scheduled to run for a whole
week from May 16 to 20.
First arraigned in Abuja on 4 February, 2004, accused persons, were alleged to have
defrauded a Brazilian banker, Mr. Nelson Sakaguchi of a sum of $242 million over a three-year
period, from April 2, 1995 to January 20, 1998 at Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos State, contrary to Sections
1(1)(a) and (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud Act of 1995 as amended by Act 62 of 1998.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=17483
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11 MAY 2005
From WBAL TV Channel 11 Baltimore, sent in
by an associate:
'Deaf' Phone Calls Bilk Businesses Out Of Money
Innovative scam artists have a new way of shopping for victims by pretending to be deaf to
dupe Maryland businesses out of tens of thousands of dollars.
WBAL-TV 11 News I-Team reporter Barry Simms said women's clothing store M. Randall and
Company has been in business in Easton for 12 years and it isn't unusual for customers to
place orders by phone. But last November, Marc Del Pino wasn't sure if a large phone order
was a blessing or a joke.
"I laughed at him at first until I got it approved," Del Pino said.
Simms said it was a $3,400 credit card transaction, and once it was approved, all seemed
good.
"I didn't get a feel for it," Del Pino said. "I didn't feel I was being ripped off."
In fact, Del Pino received three more orders by phone totaling more than $12,000 and shipped
the merchandise to Nigeria before he discovered the caller had used stolen credit cards.
Simms reported that what was so unusual about the story is the way the orders came in. Del
Pino never spoke directly with the purchaser; instead, he spoke to an operator used by deaf
consumers to help them shop.
The service is called Internet Protocol Relay. Federal investigators now know that criminals are
finding IP Relay an easy way to shop for new victims.
In Maryland, IP Relay is supposed to work like this: the deaf customer types a message to the
relay operator. The operator calls the business and reads the message. The business
responds. The relay operator then types a response back to the deaf customer. But by law, the
operators aren't allowed to reveal information that would disconnect the sale -- even if they feel
there's a scam going on.
"In many cases, the subjects are trying multiple credit cards to see if they will work, so the
operator will be putting credit card number after credit card number to see if it hits and quickly
recognize it's a scam," said FBI Internet Crimes Agent Dan Larkin.
Merchants like Del Pino don't find out it's a fraudulent sale until weeks later.
Simms reported this scam has affected small businesses here on the eastern shore, in
Baltimore and across the country and those business owners who have been targeted find they
have no recourse. He said they have to recover the costs.
Del Pino thought he had fraud protection from the credit card company, but it was voided
because there was no customer signature and no way to prove he talked to the real card
holder.
"I think I'm abused by both sides of the fence," Del Pino said. "I'm the one who ends up with
nothing."
Except, Simms reported, the $16,000 he now owes the credit card company.
Over the past year, federal agents have seized more than $1 million worth of merchandise and
made 17 arrests in Nigeria and Ghana.
The I-Team contacted AT&T about the scam. The company said the IP Relay service is for
use only within the United States and it's trying to keep some calls from reaching operators by
blocking IP addresses from foreign countries.
Here is the URL of the story for as long as it is good:
http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/4474999/detail.html
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1 MAY 2005
From Vanguard, a Nigerian newspaper:
How crooks became honourables, distinguished senators, by ex-DIG Nuhu Aliyu
In this interview, Senator Nuhu Aliyu, a former deputy inspector-general of police (DIG),
elaborates on his claim that some National Assembly members are people he had arrested in
the past for grave criminal offences including advance fee fraud.
AGAINST the background of your experience, one would like to know the role expected of the
police during political campaigns and elections?
Well, the Police role is very clear as there are guidelines as provided for in the law. It is the
responsibility of the Police to make sure that campaigns are conducted under strict obedience
to the law.
That is to say that it is conducted under an atmosphere where people respect the law, free of
violence. It is the responsibility of the Police to make sure that during campaigns, no dangerous
weapons like knives, spears, guns or anything that could accelerate violence are carried by the
parties concerned. It is the responsibility of the Police to make sure that campaigners don’t
carry these dangerous weapons. It is also the responsibility of the Police to make sure that
during campaigns, permits are issued in such a way that rival parties don’t clash. That is to say
that if you are giving license to party Y on a particular day, you do not give another permit to
another party on the same day.
Permit for campaigns
Also, before you go to any campaign as a party or a candidate to any place, you must notify the
Police who will have to issue a permit for the campaign. Also if you are going out on a rally on a
particular day, it is the Police that will give you permit to carry out that rally and the Police will
also accompany you during the rally.
Do you believe that the police carried out these roles creditably before and during the 2003
elections?
Well, I am no longer in the Police and as far as I am concerned, I know that during our
campaigns in Niger State, apart from the disturbance in January 2004, during the local
government election campaigns, elections were conducted very well, free of violence, free of
intimidation.
But you must have heard of police collaboration with some political interest groups in other
states?
I don’t follow the Police any more, what I am following is the progress of my party, the progress
of my campaigns and the progress of my state.
You said you met some people you apprehended as criminals as your colleagues in the
National Assembly. How really did you feel seeing them?
I felt very bad. I felt really bad because these people knew that they were experts in 419 cases.
A lot of them were apprehended and detained by the Police a number of times and to find those
people in the National Assembly, it can be very disturbing. I was really disturbed.
Are you not also disturbed that these people were not convicted?
Conviction was not my responsibility. It is the responsibility of the courts to convict and the courts
convict when they have sufficient evidence to prove a case beyond all reasonable doubts. I
don’t know if there were sufficient evidence adduced before the courts for the conviction of
these people. But there is one thing you will have to understand and that is that 419 is an offence
that was at that time very, very difficult to prove. I think it was virtually impossible to prove. I think
these people I am talking about took advantage of those lapses.
Now as a lawmaker, have you identified those lapses?
Yes, they have been corrected. There is a law now about EFCC (Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission), money laundering law. Now it is a very difficult thing, a very difficult
offence for anybody to commit this kind of economic crime without being prosecuted. Of course
the chairman of EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, did say that he had arrested a number of 419
suspects and that they are now before the courts.
Have you had opportunities of relating with these your former detainees, say in Committee
assignments?
No. I have never had relations with them, other than they are members of the National
Assembly.
Are they in the Senate?
They are members of the National Assembly.
Don’t you think you have a moral responsibility to expose them?
Moral responsibility? All I am saying is that I am alerting the nation, that we have to be very
careful about the kind of persons we elect to political offices.
How do you think these people were able to enter into the National Assembly even as recent
as 2003?
I think what it is here is that to be a member of the National Assembly is an honour and to be a
member of the National Assembly is a privilege. If one is a member of the National Assembly,
one becomes relevant in the scheme of things in Nigeria. If you have money especially when
you have loose money (I consider anybody who has made money through 419 to have loose
money), you could play around with it, could play politics. Politics, as it is today, is politics of
money. If you have money, people don’t care, they will elect you and I think this is how these
people came about to be in the National Assembly. Even though they were people who have
had criminal activities behind them, they still want to be relevant and this is how they came to be
relevant as members of the National Assembly. They are now Honourables and Distinguished
Senators.
Do they ever greet you?
As colleagues in the National Assembly we greet each other whenever we see one another, we
say Honourable or Distinguished, that is what we do.
How did you react seeing the former Inspector-General of Police in chains when he was taken
to court?
It is very sad, very sad to see somebody of Tafa Balogun’s standing, a former Inspector
General of Police to be handcuffed. It was a very big shame to the entire Nigeria Police and
indeed the nation. Now that Tafa Balogun is facing trial in court, I hope and pray that he will be
able to convince Nigerians that he had no hand in any criminal activity, especially when it
relates to siphoning of funds. Don’t forget the amount being mentioned. N13 billion. N13 billion is
a hell of money that could turn the Nigeria Police into an active service and that could provide
the wherewithal for good performance. But if it is alleged that Tafa Balogun took away that
money, it is unfortunate.
*********************************************************
27 APR 2005
From The Punch, a Nigerian newspaper:
US urges tougher action against 419 suspects
The United States on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to remove
impediments militating against the speedy trial and conviction of suspects
standing trial for advance fee fraudsters and other forms of electronic crime.
The U.S Commercial Attache, Mr. Mike McGee, at a news conference in Lagos
said speedy conviction of such suspects would attract foreign investors to the
Nigerian economy .
McGee, who was briefing newsmen on the forthcoming four-day CTO 2005
exhibition, said it was heartwarming to note that the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission had made some arrests. noting that fraud had become a
serious issue which the government should join hands with the private sector
and the media to tackle.
He said the U.S government was desirous of supporting the EFCC in its efforts
because it wished to expand capacities for joint ventures between American
and Nigerian businessmen.
He said, "There has been a lot of focus, a lot of attention, a lot of talk about
this subject in your country. Just about every day, you can pick up the paper
and see it. I can guarantee that my office gets e-mails about this subject every
day. We get phone calls; we get letters from the United States about this and
companies here in the country. So, it is something that we know is extremely
serious because people want to do business here. There are a lot of
opportunities for joint ventures, for representations or to buy and sell products
between our two countries. But electronic crime is a very, very difficult inhibitor
that we must talk more about."
" So, it doesn't really matter how much we talk about it or how much your country
puts into the EFCC; if these people don't know that they are going to jail and that
their products and their possessions are going to be confiscated, it is going to
be difficult to turn the corner. There are a lot of decent people in this country;
honest people who are trying to do business in the country and around, with the
rest of the world. It is very difficult, if they don't know that they are being
protected in the fair way of doing business."
He said that the CTO, which is scheduled for May 16-20 at the Muson Centre in
Lagos, would attract high-profile personalities from the public and private
sector and is expected to discuss issues such as the protection of intellectual
and property rights; e-Commerce and emerging markets in West Africa;
securing the information highway; and the role of technology in healthcare,
education and social development.
*****************************************
20 APR 2005
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
419: Ibekwe’s Co-accused Told to Seek Medical Attention
By Abimbola Akosile
An Ikeja High Court Judge, Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, yesterday told Mr Augonous Okoro, co-
accused person to late Chief Maurice Ibekwe (House of Representatives member), in an on-
going advanced fee fraud a.k.a. 419 trial, to seek adequate medical attention and fixed new
dates for continuation of trial in the matter.
Accused person, who was given bail in the sum of N100million with a surety in like sum on
November 15, last year, is facing an amended charge filed by Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), the prosecutor, for allegedly swindling a German businessman, Mr Klaus
Richard Munch, of $330,000 and DM75,000 10 years ago.
Okoro, a hotelier, said to be seriously ill from kidney complications, was present in court
yesterday, when the matter came for up trial. His co-accused, late Ibekwe, died on March 20,
2004, of kidney complications before the matter could be concluded before another judge.
Sporting a yellow turtle-necked sweatshirt under a blue shirt, he was accompanied by a lady
dressed as a nurse, who held a drip containing some yellow liquid connected to his arm.
The matter was earlier stood to allow his counsel, Mr Kemi Pinheiro, to appear in court
for trial to continue. Pinheiro wrote a letter to court, urging a stand-down till later in
the day, but failed to show up.
Mr Rotimi Jacobs, EFCC counsel, told court the matter was fixed for trial and that his major
witness, Munch, was around to give evidence. He sought new trial dates, which were later
fixed for June 20, 21, 22, and 23, within which period Okoro was expected to have obtained
adequate medical attention for his ailment.
Justice Oyewole, in his ruling, said, "bail was granted to the accused person on November 15
on health grounds. Accused there-after appeared in court with improvement in his condition,
only for him to appear again with two persons, one of them a lady dressed as a nurse, albeit
with no positive identification."
"Till date, there is no medical report before me supporting the ailment. There is a witness from
Germany who is here to testify. Accused person should not be seen as the one delaying trial.
His application for a stay of proceedings was refused in this court. He is hereby advised to
seek adequate medical attention since he has been granted bail. Case is hereby adjourned till
June 20, 21, 22, and 23."
Okoro, in a suit with Charge No. ID/40C/2003, filed by State, is being charged with conspiracy
with intent to defraud, an offence punishable under Sections 419, 516, 472(2) of the Criminal
Code; for obtaining the sum from Munch, on the pretence that such monies were sundry
payments to various government officials for the payment of $30 million on contract No.
FMT&AV/PED/5152/82.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=15115
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19 APR 2005
From the Punch, a Nigerian newspaper:
$242m scam: Nwude not suffering from terminal disease
Kayode Ketefe
An Ikeja High Court, presided over by Justice Joseph Oyewole, on Monday, accepted a
medical report which claimed that Emmanuel Nwude was not suffering from any life threatening
disease, contrary to his claim.
Nwude is one of the three accused persons standing trial for allegedly defrauding a Brazilian
bank of $242million. Others are Amaka Anajemba and Nzeribe Okoli.
At the resumed hearing of the matter, the lawyer to the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, tendered two medical reports, one of which established that
the accused was not suffering from any terminal ailment.
In the first report from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, dated April 13, 2005, it was
stated that Nwude was not suffering from any neurological problem constituting a threat to his
life.
In the second report from Radmed Diagnostic Centre, Ikoyi, Lagos, it was stated that Nwude
refused to cooperate with the medical personnel who wanted to conduct medical investigation
on him. He was said to have refused the insertion of any medical instrument into him.
Based on this, Jacobs urged the court to order "immediate and expeditious trial" of the matter,
which had been stalled since October, last year. He said the new evidence showed that Nwude
was fit enough to stand trial together with other accused persons.
The court granted the prayer and set down the matter for definite trial, despite the prayer of
Nwude’s lawyer, Mr. Rickey Tarfa (SAN), that the matter be adjourned "for mention" instead of
"setting it down for trial."
Tarfa had urged the court not to hold that the medical report had disproved the alleged ailment
of his client.
According to him, the last paragraph of the report showed that there were more examinations to
be conducted. "The report is not conclusive," he said.
Oyewole also dismissed the application of Nwude praying the court for a stay of proceedings
until the determination of an appeal before the Court of Appeal.
The court adjourned hearing till May 16-20.
ThisDay and other Nigerian newspapers also covered this story.
Here is the ThisDay URL for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=14967
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13 APR 2005
From the Punch, a Nigerian newspaper:
Money laundering: EFCC seizes $700m
Ademola Oni
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission on Tuesday in Lagos claimed that it had
confiscated about $700million from money launderers.
The Secretary to the EFCC, Mr. Emmanuel Akomaye, who stated this at a
seminar on the Money Laundering Act, organised by the commission and the
Financial Institutions Training Centre, did not, however, state the period within
which the money was confiscated.
According to him, the activities of money launderers have drawn the ire of
Western nations, leading to the promulgation of anti-419 laws in the United
States of America.
The US, he stated, realised that over 80 per cent of scam mails into the country
originated from Nigeria and had deemed it necessary to take tougher actions
against not only individuals but against the country.
Though, Akomaye could not supply latest statistic on the crime, he said that the
policies and legal framework adopted to combat the incident would expose
more culprits and salvage the country’s image.
He explained that the seminar was targeted at banks to enable them detect the
methods of money launderers and report same to regulatory authorities.
For there to be any attempt to conceal money, there would have been a
perpetration of acquiring such money illegally. So, we must fashion out a way of
detecting those avenues through which such crimes could be perpetrated and
how the banks could nip the fraud in the bud, he stressed.
Akomaye expressed delight that the banks had been cooperating by reporting
cases to the commission, adding that time has come for concerned agencies
to ask questions about the sources of money that enter into banks’ vaults.
When people buy shares with stolen or drug money, we must be able to
unravel the source and that is bound to ensure some sanity in our system.
He lamented that the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency was
incapacitated to deal with money laundering as its enforcement was limited to
drug money alone.
The Director-General of the FITC, Dr. Oladimeji Alo, described the over
N9billion reported cases of money laundering as mind boggling.
According to him, Money laundering is an attempt to hide what is illegally
derived through drugs, embezzlement, smuggling, and forgeries. The
magnitude is such that there is an urgent need to combat and curtail it with its
attendant impact on the economy.
The Nigerian newspaper This Day did a piece on this as well.
419 Coalition Comment: Things will improve further when there
are convictions of 419ers and repatriations of recovered monies,
starting with the Ghasemi case recovered funds which have been
sitting in Central Bank of Nigeria for years now with CBN refusing
to repatriate them, though it can do so any time it likes according
to the US Government.
****************************************
8 APR 2005
From the New Zealand Herald:
Woman defrauded lawyer of $1.2m
by Tony Stickley
A personable, 65-year-old conwoman dubbed "the queen of greed" duped 10 people out of
more than $2 million before losing the money to a classic Nigerian scam.
Among her victims was a lawyer, formerly a senior member of a well-known Auckland practice,
who lost $1.2 million.
The woman, Patricia Lenine Mabel Walsh, of Howick, was found guilty in the Auckland District
Court yesterday on 47 counts relating to the Nigerian fraud and a further three fraud charges
over the purchase of a $1.8 million home at Whitford.
A cousin, 78-year-old Elva Mary Medhurst, also of Howick, faced two charges of
misappropriation but died partway through the trial.
The jury heard that the 10 people who lost just over $2 million also put money into a failed
upmarket apartment project initiated by Walsh.
She and her fellow investors were conned out of their money by American fraudster Greg
Dutcher, who offered to provide finance for the project - but they had to pay fees and expenses
upfront.
When Walsh approached the investors with a rescue package, they threw good money after
bad.
The lawyer, whose name was suppressed, lost $400,000 on the building project and $1.2 million
trying to recoup his loss. A 90-year-old woman lost $337,000 in the Nigerian scam.
Serious Fraud Office lawyer David Jones said Walsh concealed the Nigerian connection when
discussing the rescue package with the other investors.
She told them a Middle East benefactor was setting up a trust to help people who had fallen on
hard times through no fault of their own. She was the trust's New Zealand representative and the
funds would be under her control to dispense to people who fitted the criteria.
As in the Dutcher fraud, the investors were told that before the rescue money could be
transferred to New Zealand, they had to pay set-up costs, taxes, bank fees and legal costs.
The Crown said that Walsh, who was expecting US$28 million, was telling the victims what the
Nigerians were telling her. But when asked, she denied any Nigerian connection. Inevitably, the
US$28 million never arrived.
The Crown said that on a trip to Amsterdam, Walsh was shown boxes said by the Nigerians to
contain the money.
According to the SFO, she manufactured a large number of letters from banks, law firms and
other institutions to confirm that the money would arrive soon.
Mr Jones told the jury Walsh was the queen of greed, "a serial liar and a serial forger".
Walsh, an undischarged bankrupt, was remanded in custody for sentencing next month.
Victim wants clampdown
An Auckland lawyer, conned out of $1.6 million in two separate classic Nigerian scams, is
calling for banking restrictions to defeat overseas fraudsters.
The man, who has name suppression, lost his $400,000 investment in an upmarket apartment
complex in St Stephens Ave to an American conman.
He then lost a further $1.2 million in another Nigerian fraud involving Patricia Walsh in a vain
attempt to recover the money.
The lawyer trusted and believed Walsh when she said that an overseas benefactor was going
to help them in their financial distress.
He told a depositions hearing last year that he expected to receive $8 million. No money
arrived.
After Walsh's conviction yesterday, the lawyer said the Government should act to counter the
activities of overseas fraudsters by severely limiting the amounts and frequency which
individuals could use organisations such as Western Union and Travelex to transfer money out
of the country.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?ObjectID=10119174
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5 APR 2005
From the BBC News website:
S Africa fraudsters find new lure
By Justin Pearce
Organisers of a new "419" style e-mail scam are trying to extort money by pretending to be
involved in the fight against fraud.
The self-styled "Anti-Scam Crusaders" lured victims using a genuine South African-based anti-
fraud website.
This latest scam attempts to solicit money for the publication of a book with instructions on how
to beat scams.
Named after a Nigerian anti-fraud law, 419ers typically use mass e-mails to trick people into
parting with money.
The writer of the e-mail claims to have "understudied the Nigerian 419 actors", who "have been
able to get some morally weak citizens of other countries to collaborate with them".
The e-mail pretends to be promoting a book that "contains all it would take to knock the 419ers
out of business".
Website ban
Then comes the catch: "However, a little premium will be required from you, if you are interested
to obtain the manuscript for publication in your country."
The fraudsters registered on the 419 Legal website, a genuine anti-fraud initiative, and used the
site's private message facility to contact other subscribers.
"They approached our website last year offering help with tracing offenders in Nigeria,"
Inspector Rian Visser, the founder of 419 Legal, told the BBC News website.
"We then launched an investigation, found they were involved in fraud and banned them from
our website."
But in March this year the fraudsters reappeared, operating from a different server in Nigeria
and registering new bogus user identities.
Inspector Visser, an officer in the South African Police Services (SAPS), started 419 Legal last
year on his own initiative.
"We wanted to close down the communications networks of these criminals," Inspector Visser
said.
"We decided we would inform the internet service providers and tell them we could provide all
the proof that was needed."
Inspector Visser said 419 Legal now had the backing of the SAPS and benefits from a network
of 5,000 informers around the world. The organisation works in co-operation with investigating
authorities in Nigeria, the UK, the US and Australia, among others.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4412737.stm
*******************************************
1 APR 2005
From Vanguard, a Nigerian newspaper, and no this is
not an April Fool's joke, we wish it were:
Court orders EFCC not to seize Nwude's shopping complex
AWKA - ANAMBRA State High Court sitting at Ogidi has ordered the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Inspector- General of Police not to take possession and
management of the multi-million Naira shopping complex at No. 9, Awka road, Onitsha
belonging to Chief Emmanuel Nwude currently standing trial for alleged 419 scam. Nwude and
others are being tried under the EFCC laws.
Nwude's Lawer, F.A.R Okafor had instituted a legal matter at the Ogidi High Court before
Justice. C.O Amaechi praying the court to among other things:
- Give a declaration that the attempt by the respondents (EFCC, Police etc) to take over the
control of properties of the applicant (Nwude) in Anambra State while he (Nwude) is still facing
trial, having not been convicted of any offence by any court of competent jurisdiction in this
country amounts to an infraction and /or infringement on the fundamental rights of the applicant
as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.
- An order of the court espondents or theirng, molesting,
detaincant's agents an applicant's properties
until the determination of the criminal charges against the applicant now pending at the Lagos
State High Court.
- N5 million damages against the respondents jointly and severally for infringing the applicant's
rights to own properties anywhere in this country.
After hearing the Motions Ex-parte, the presiding Judge, Justice C.O. Amaechi granted the
prayers of Nwude and made an order restraining the EFCC or its agents from "taking over the
control of the management, asking for an account from the applicants agents and / or interfering
with the management of any of the applicants properties situated anywhere in Anambra State
including the PACIFIC Complex situated at No. 9 Awka Road, Onitsha and E.M. Petroleum
situated at Nnamdi Azikiwe avenue, Abagana, Anambra State of Nigeria until the determination
of the motion on notice". However, contrary to the court order the respondent allegedly took
possession of the applicant's property by appointing an agent to manage the shopping
complex and hiring a security outfit to replace the one employed by the applicant.
Not happy with this development, the applicant filed for and obtained Form 48 (Notice of
consequences of disobedience of court order), which he has already served on the
respondents.
***************************************
29 MAR 2005
From the Daily Independent, a Nigerian newspaper:
419: Slain Nigerian diplomat’s family demand $730,000 compensation
By Tokunbo Oloruntola, News Editor, Lagos
The family of a Nigerian diplomat, Michael Wayi, killed by a victim of a 419 deal at the Nigerian
embassy in Czech, is demanding $730,000 compensation from his alleged killer.
It also asked for a public apology from the Czech Government for the fatal shooting of the
diplomat in November 2003 over a financial scam allegedly perpetrated by some people
believed to be Nigerians.
A retired Czech military doctor, Jirl Pasovsky, who shot the diplomat was charged to a court in
Praque, the Czech capital. When the case came up for hearing on March 8, counsel to the
accused told the court he was indisposed to appear.
The counsel said his client was in final stage of cancer. The tragic event started unfolding in
November 2003, when the accused, 73, moral to unidentified person, claiming to be a Nigerian,
who offered him a lucrative investment opportunity in an oil pipeline project.
Unlike other victims of internet scam, the accused held the Nigerian Government responsible
and paid several visits to the Nigerian embassy in Praque, demanding for refund of the lost
money.
When the accused failed to get the money, he walked into the Nigerian embassy and shot the
diplomat. The diplomat’s family is claiming the $730,000 compensation to provide financial
support for his aging family in Nigeria.
419 Coalition Comment: Nobody deserves to die over 419, not
the 419ers, not their victims, not anyone else. However, given the
above, we wonder who is being sued for compensation regarding
dozen plus victims murdered by the 419ers? (Answer, nobody,
because nobody has ever been charged with those crimes). And
just how many official apologies has the Nigerian Government
extended to the families of those victims who were murdered in
Nigeria? (Answer, none that we know of). Just thought we might
put the above situation into perspective, Big Picture-wise.
***********************************************
23 MAR 2005
Although 419 Coalition does not customarily deal with
"Institutional 419" (corruption) we have decided to put
up the following piece because it represents, our view,
a major policy change on the part of the United States
Government concerning Nigeria and also because over the
years it hashe officed by the new policy also "double-dip" in both
Institutional 419 and the Regular forms of 419 that
419 Coalition customarily deals with. Here is the piece,
from the Daily Independent, a Nigerian newspaper:
U.S. to ban corrupt Nigerian officials
By Chinedu Offor, Correspondent, Washington D.C.
Nigerian public servants who buy choice estates and invest in the United States through shady
means are to be kept out of the country, as tales of the alleged sleaze by the just dismissed
Education Minister, Fabian Osuji, and some lawmakers have spread across the Atlantic to jolt
Washington.
American officials said the scandal is one more justification to ban Nigerian officials and their
families.
Checks at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) showed that on the average, over
15 Nigerian government officials, including governors, visit the U.S. every week.
Most of them have no reason for coming, the authorities insisted, except to buy choice estates
or make investment and those suspected to be involved in corruption will from now be banned
from entering the U.S.
Plateau State Governor, Josuah Dariye, and his associates are already in the bad books.
State Department sources said when the current investigation of several officials is completed,
the U.S. will no longer be a safe haven for serving or former governors and other government
officials implicated.
Investigation showed that American authorities are quietly investigating several governors and
members of President Olusegun Obasanjo's cabinet, which could lead to the withdrawal of their
visas and cancellation of other documents they need to enter the U.S.
"We intend to serve notice that the U.S. will not condone corruption by Nigerian officials who
take advantage of their positions to loot public funds", officials stated.
The tougher stance followed a personal message Obasanjo sent to President George Bush to
assist Nigeria in curbing corruption.
A source said: "Prior to now, these officials took advantage of our laws to hide their wealth and
where such cases go to court, they tie up the system for several years. A proclamation signed
by the President, which sealed Dariye's fate, is all that is needed to keep these officials out".
Investigation of Nigerian officials started when it was discovered that several of them own real
estates in posh areas of the country.
They allegedly use fronts to set up businesses, and are major shareholders in banks,
insurance, medical and oil related enterprises.
"An audit of the assets of present and past Nigerian government officials showed a staggering
conservative value running into trillions of dollars.
"Owners of these businesses have no other visible sources of wealth except that they are either
government officials or have been in government previously", senior administration sources
said.
The investigators are liaising with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and
British officials to have an accurate picture of the spread of investment by Nigerian public
servants.
Those already in the frame, sources said, include two former heads of state, serving and former
lawmakers, ministers, governors and heads of agencies.
The source added: "We are getting active co-operation from Nigeria and of course will pass on
the result of our own efforts to Obasanjo".
A preliminary dossier on the "dirty officials", as our sources called the document, is on its way to
EFCC Chairman, Nuhu Ribadu.
Administration officials said the move is also to prevent the criminals from using their wealth to
influence the political environment.
"The only way to break the circle of corruption in Nigeria is to ensure that those who are elected
did not achieve their ambition in a corrupt manner and are not beholden to any person or group
in the discharge of their duties and in America. Nigeria will find a willing partner in this fight".
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.independentng.com/news/nnmar230504.htm
419 Coalition: We think that the new policy is excellent and trust
its implementation will match the intent. We think that perhaps
USG should consider "banning" other wealthy Nigerians who have no
apparent legal basis for their wealth (419ers, in short) in addition
to the "corrupt government officials" cited in the above article.
We also think that perhaps USG should consider extending these
policies to all nations. But then, we are not diplomats or lawyers
and have no particular expertise in such matters, we'll leave
that to the experts.
***************************************************
19 MAR 2005:
From the American Medical News:
419: New scams focus on familiar target: Physicians
By Bob Cook
Authorities say the best defense for "419" advance-fee scams is skepticism
It's amazing the number of people who want to share millions with you. Nigerian generals, exiled
Liberian government ministers, foreign lottery operators, banks trying to find heirs of someone
who died in a car crash -- the offers are all there, in your e-mail, fax machine, answering machine
and even the good old-fashioned mailbox. Why do all these people want to share riches with
you?
The short answer is: They don't. Law enforcement authorities say they're scammers,
participating in a common kind of fraud known as an advance-fee scheme. And its practitioners,
authorities say, are increasingly targeting physicians.
Often, advance-fee fraud is referred to as "419" fraud, after the section of the Nigerian criminal
code that outlaws such scams. Nigeria is the country that popularized such scams, starting in
the early 1980s.
They seek to lure people into sending money or banking information on the pretense that it's
needed to share in the booty the scammers, posing as dignitaries or financial agents, say is
available. They also might seek to have victims travel to a foreign locale to deliver the
information -- which in some cases has resulted in the victim's kidnapping or murder.
Peter Tachauer, a detective sergeant with the City of London police, is investigating a case in
which American doctors are receiving letters, e-mails or faxes that go like this: A previously
unknown member of your family has been killed in a car crash overseas. You are the only
person left who could be related to the deceased, and you might be the sole inheritor of millions
of dollars left in an account.
The person contacting you will have details of genealogical research. All you need to do is
send money and bank account information, and the process of getting your money begins.
The missive looks good. It's got names of real Swiss banks on it, and scammers have an
amazing amount of personal data about the doctor who gets it, Tachauer said. Of course, an
American physician couldn't know that 100 Fleet St. in London, one return address, is the
location of a cobbler's shop, not a bank branch.
Tachauer said the Swiss banks contacted him because they were getting inundated by calls
about the note's "bona fides" from American physicians who had received it.
Tachauer said he didn't know how many physicians received the note, but he does know that at
least two physicians lost a collective $100,000. The doctors, whom Tachauer did not identify,
traveled to Amsterdam to deliver cash to the scammers, who said such a meeting and
transaction was necessary to pay the fees and charges for the money transfer, and legal costs
for "complications" related to it.
"What [these scammers] can do knows no bounds," Tachauer said. To the unwitting and
unwary, such a scheme "sounds plausible."
The U.S. Secret Service, which investigates financial crimes, estimates that Americans are
taken for hundreds of millions of dollars per year from such scams, though the total could be
more. Often, the agency says, victims are too embarrassed to admit they fell for it, or victims
figure -- correctly -- that catching the scammers is just about impossible.
Among the few victims speaking out is a Tampa, Fla., family physician and his wife, a nurse. In
August 2000, Ali-Reza Ghasemi, MD, and his wife, Shaleh, got a call from a man identifying
himself as a director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp., a real group that oversees the
country's oil and gas industry. The man said an Iranian businessman had died in Nigeria and
left $27 million to Dr. Ghasemi. The call was plausible because the Ghasemis had abandoned
investments in their native Iran when they fled after the Shah of Iran's 1979 overthrow.
As Shaleh Ghasemi tells it, the deal sounded even more legitimate when the call was followed
by a fax of official-looking documents and instructions on how to transfer the money to a bank
account in Atlanta. But somehow there always was some glitch, fee, tax or other problem that
needed the Ghasemis' money, which they had to borrow to try to seal the deal.
Eventually, Shaleh Ghasemi called the U.S. State Dept., who told her she and her husband
were victims of fraud. All told, they lost $400,000. No arrests have been made in their case,
which Shaleh Ghasemi, a frequent poster on anti-419 Web sites, has likened to "financial
terrorism."
The difficulty in tracking down 419 scammers is the international nature of the crimes. In
Tachauer's case, the banks are in Switzerland, the physicians are in the United States, the
meetings are in the Netherlands, and the scammers' cell phone numbers are registered in the
United Kingdom (that's how Tachauer got involved).
"There have been arrests, but it is difficult to pin down who is doing this," said Brandon
Bridgeforth, a special agent for the U.S. Secret Service in Chicago.
One of the advances 419 scammers have made is going beyond random e-mails by trying to
find specific targets, in hopes that their pitch will be more believable and personal.
Bridgeforth said 419 perpetrators have geared letters to many specific professions, not just
physicians. But in the case Tachauer is investigating, the diversity of ethnicities in U.S. doctors
is the reason for their targeting. The notes are sent to "a lot of foreign-sounding names," he said,
figuring that those physicians would be the most likely to think they might have a long-lost
relative in another country.
The Secret Service, the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission -- as well as private citizens
and foreign governments -- all have Web sites warning about 419 fraud and how to spot it. The
Secret Service recommends that anyone who gets such a note or call, or thinks they've been a
victim of a 419 scam, contact their local Secret Service office. Offices are in all 50 states.
But the best defense against 419 schemes is skepticism. "If you're getting money, then why do
you have to send money?" Bridgeforth said. "If it's somebody you've never heard of, how did
they get your name?"
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2005/03/28/bil20328.htm
419 Coalition Note: On the Ghasemi case, Central Bank of Nigeria
announced publicly wiht much fanfare several years ago that the
Ghasemi's money had been recovered, but CBN has never sent
the recovered monies on to the Ghasemi's. CBN says the delays
are because of the US Government, but the US Government denies
these allegations and says that CBN is free to repatriate the monies.
Bottom line is that CBN still has the recovered funds and refuses
to repatriate them to the Ghasemis to date.
******************************************************
19 MAR 2005
From the Nigerian newspaper, Vanguard:
EFCC recovers 5,000 forged foreign bank cheque leaves from fraudsters
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has seized
several financial documents from a syndicate of master forgers in Lagos.
The estimated 5,000 forged cheque leaves, postal and international money
orders of various banks in Europe, the U.S and South America were seized
during an over night raid.
Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, EFCC’s Director of Operations, told reporters in Lagos
that other items such as printing plates, diskettes, a rubber stamp for an
Irish bank as well as printing papers, allegedly used to perpetrate the crime
were also recovered.Lamorde explained that this development was sequel
to the transfer of a case involving suspects from the Lagos State Police
Command on March 14, 2005 to the commission.
He said the suspect, upon interrogation, made useful revelations that
culminated in the arrest of two men described as master forgers of foreign
cheque leaves.
He said the first suspect was arrested based on information received by the
state commissioner of police’s monitoring unit at his Palm Groove abode on
Feb. 23, 2005. Forged cheque leaves, postal money orders and the printing
plates were recovered from his room.
The third suspect, was later arrested on March 16, 2005 at a printing press in
Shomolu, Lagos, where a printing plate for DHL was recovered.
The three suspects are printers and main suppliers of forged cheque leaves
and other bogus documents being fraudulently used by advance fee
fraudsters, Internet fraud as well as those seeking visas to foreign countries,
said Lamorde.
In another development, Lamorde said one Hassan Satoohi, a Saudi residing
in Medina, Saudi Arabia had the misfortune of being contacted by a
syndicate, which fraudulently obtained over $400,000 by means of money
transfer between 2002 and 2004.
The victim lodged a formal complaint at the commission late in 2004, sequel
to which he was invited to Lagos, he said. The masterminds of the scam were
arrested at a Hotel along Airport road on Feb. 10 2005 while about to collect
an additional $32,000 from the victim.
He alleged that Obinna Oguinne, 38-year old, posed as Malik Mohammed, a
senior accountant of the NNPC, in the course of the crime. The second suspect,
33 year-old Michael Mbagwu, used the name of Duru Chinedu in collecting
most of the money transferred.
Lamorde said several forged documents, purportedly emanating from the
CBN, NDLEA and NNPC featured prominently in the scam, saying computers
were recovered from the abode of the first suspect at Festac town, Lagos.
Similarly, the commission arrested at least three secondary school
students, involved in a credit card fraud and obtaining goods under false
pretences.According to him, one Abiodun Shittu a 21-year old allegedly bought
life jackets and Sony Ericson phones, worth over 16,000 Australian dollars by
means of stolen credit cards in late 2004. He said the suspect used ‘Hammed
James,’ of Symbernet Nig. Ltd, 4 Jenrola Street, Mafoluku Oshodi to procure
the goods, adding that the case was reported to the EFCC by the Australian
High Commission in Abuja on Jan. 12, 2005.
The suspect on his part allegedly ordered for goods from the victim, unknown
to him that his activities were being monitored, Lamorde said.
************************************************
17 MAR 2005
Our associate Ultrascan in Holland is looking for information
from victims of these four alleged 419ers. Please contact Monica
immedately at:
419unit@ultrascan.nl
or
ultrascanphotos@yahoo.co.uk
Here they are:
Additional photos of alleged 419ers for whom Ultrascan is looking
for information from their victims can be found of the following URL:
http://www.geocities.com/ultrascanphotos/
********************************************
16 MAR 2005
News release from the Government of Hong Kong:
Hong Kong: First Nigerian email scammer jailed
Hong Kong has successfully prosecuted its first Nigerian email scammer. A 30-
year-old Nigerian man was jailed four years today for a US$26 million scam, in
which he was convicted at the District Court of attempting to obtain property by
deception and possession of a false travel document.
Last March, emails were spammed to a large number of recipients telling them
that after the death of an African official, a US$26 million fund left unattended
was in Hong Kong pending transfer via a local bank account to a foreign one.
The case was reported to Police on April 29, and arrangements were made to
hold a meeting in a Wan Chai hotel on May 14 between the swindler and two
undercover officers.
After he demanded an administration fee of US$24,000, the swindler was
arrested, and two fake passports and three forged rubber stamps were found
in his Yuen Long residence.
Police reminded web users to beware of email fraud.
****************************************
13 MAR 2005
From the New York Daily News:
Net scammers exploit Iraq, tsunami
By Helen Kennedy
A wounded former military aide to Uday Hussein has the secret codes to foreign bank accounts
where millions worth of Saddam Hussein's loot is stashed.
And he wants to give half to you.
British soldier Jerry Smith found $35 million in one of Saddam's palaces and wants you to help
smuggle it out.
Qusay Hussein's ex-mistress, writing from a refugee camp, wants to give you the PIN number of
his Spanish bank accounts so you can get her the money.
The 20-year-old Nigerian scam has been tarted up with a shiny, newsy gloss. "The scammers
have always used current events as the basis for their 'tales' in order to give them more
credibility," says C.A. Pascale, an expert in the Nigerian scams.
It only took a week for the first tsunami-related scam E-mails to start flowing after the Dec.
26 Indian Ocean tragedy. In that one, bogus survivors said they needed help getting dead
relatives' money out of the country.
Nigerian scam spams fill up nearly everybody's mailbox these days, and many people
assume no one falls for the badly spelled come-ons. But experts estimate thousands of
Americans pay $100 million to $300 million a year to the crooks. The number could be much
higher because many victims are embarrassed or worried they broke a law.
There are few hard statistics because no one agency is in charge of battling the scammers, but
Nigerian complaints to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center were up 66% last year.
Marks have lost more than money. The State Department tied 15 murders in three years to the
scam. In December, a Cypriot was tortured and burned to death in South Africa, allegedly by
Nigerian scammers.
Also known as "advance fee fraud" or "419 fraud" after the relevant section of the Nigerian
Criminal Code, the scam began in the 1980s with handwritten letters, graduated to faxes and is
now an E-mail scourge. It is estimated to be Nigeria's third-largest industry.
"For some reason, 419 is primarily a Nigerian thing, why we do not know, and nobody else
does either, " said Pascale, who heads the 419 Coalition.
The fleecing has so sullied the image of legit Nigerian business, the government issues
periodic warnings. Cops aren't the only ones trying to shut down the scammers. Calling
themselves "scambaiters," online vigilantes string them along and try to get the con men to
send THEM money.
On a Web site called 419eater.com, Mike (he keeps his last name off-the-record to protect
himself) posted a clip of his cell-phone call with a scammer posing as a rich dead oilman's
lawyer, whom he had convinced to send $718 as a goodwill gesture before a large fund
transfer.
As Mike assures the Nigerian he is just arriving at the Western Union office to send his life
savings, one hears a realistic squealing of tires, a giant crash and Mike moaning, "I don't want
to die." There follows long minutes of sirens while on the other end, the scammer, $718 in the
hole, just keeps uncertainly repeating, "Hello, hello, hello?"
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/289574p-247759c.html
*********************************
12 MAR 2005
From the Philippine Star:
Filipino ship captain duped, loses P250,000 ($5,000) to Nigerian
By Nestor Etolle
Police and immigration officials have issued an alarm against a Nigerian
national who reportedly duped an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) of P250,000
in an easy-money making scheme.
In a complaint filed before the Western Criminal Investigation and Detection
Group, Jaime Inocencio, 45, a captain of a foreign-based vessel, identified the
suspect as one Freeman Kingsley.
According to the victim, he met a Nigerian named Garuba when his ship made
its port call in La Goulette, Tunisia last month.
The Nigerian offered him a business partnership, naming his brother Kingsley
as his contact in the Philippines.
Upon arrival in the country, the victim said he got a call from Kingsley with
instructions to meet him at a hotel in Pasay City. During their meeting, the
Nigerian asked for $5,000 (roughly P250,000) as his share in the business
venture. The suspect also told him that his own cash is contained in a briefcase
which they claimed at the hotel’s diplomatic courier.
The duo then proceeded to the suspect’s room at Amazonia Hotel along M.H.
del Pilar street in Ermita, Manila.
Once inside the room, the suspect opened the briefcase which contained
bundles of blackened paper bills covered with white powder and wads of
cotton. The suspect said the blackened paper bills are genuine dollar bills
which underwent a camouflage process to hide its value worth millions. The
suspect even showed what looked like a genuine instruction manual from the
US Embassy on how to remove the black powder from the bills.
The suspect got one of the blackened paper bills and poured a special liquid
on it, revealing a genuine $100 bill. The victim said he was able to exchange
the bill into pesos at a nearby money exchange shop.
The suspect then told the victim that he needed to secure more of the special
liquid since what he carried was not enough to erase all the black powder from
all the bills. He then left the room.
The victim said the suspect never returned. He tried to examine the blackened
bills inside the brief case and found out that they were only pieces of cut-out
cartons.
Western-CIDG chief Superintendent Nelson Yabut said the US Embassy
confirmed the instruction manual was fake and denied having issued any such
manual.
Yabut also requested the immigration bureau to issue a hold departure order
against the suspect.
He warned the public, especially OFWs, not to be deceived by any money-
making scheme by foreigners.
***********************************************
11 MAR 2005
From SFGate.com (the San Francisco Chronicle):
Eight years prison for Sacramento man in $2 million Nigerian bank scam
A Sacramento man of Nigerian descent was sentenced to more than eight years in federal
prison Friday for running an international investment scam that defrauded investors of more than
$2.1 million through a Nigerian advance fee scheme.
Roland Adams, 38, admitted that he conspired with others in Nigeria, South Africa and Canada
to run the scheme. Potential investors were mailed letters supposedly from African government
officials who wanted help in diverting millions of dollars held in bogus trusts or accounts.
In exchange for a future share of the fictitious money, the victims were persuaded to send in fees
of several thousand to several hundred thousand dollars to individuals or accounts around the
world.
Adams, who owned Adams Business Services, gave the scheme an illusion of legitimacy by
setting up Web sites such as Afribankcorp.com, Bancofafrica.com and
Bancofeasterncarribean.com where victims could track the false transactions.
He pleaded guilty in August 2003 to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud, and conspiring to
launder money, and was sentenced to 97 months in prison.
He also was ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution to victims, a portion of which will
be paid from the forfeiture of his Elk Grove home and $87,000 in various bank accounts.
He was separately convicted in April on charges of making false statements during his
naturalization interview, and sentenced to an identical prison term to be served at the same
time. As a result, he was stripped of his U.S. citizenship Friday and will be deported back to
Nigeria after he completes his prison sentence.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/03/11/financial/f183204S35.DTL
***************************************************
10 MAR 2005
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
$242m Scam: Anajemba Decries Delay
By Abimbola Akosile and Faith Ayangbeso
Second lead counsel to Amaka Anajemba (Mrs), Chief Chris Uche, (SAN), has decried
continued delay in a six-month old trial involving $242 million Advance Fee Fraud a.k.a. 419
scam, inwhich his client, insisted that she was suffering in prison and ought to be set free
of the charges against her.
Amaka is standing trial alongside Chief Emmanuel Nwude and Mr Nzeribe Edeh Okoli, in a de
novo (fresh) trial, which began on October 5.
Speaking yesterday before presiding judge, Justice Olubunmi Oyewole of the Ikeja High Court,
Uche claimed Anajemba has become a victim of circumstance as a result of several
adjournments of the matter.
"This cannot continue. It is like we are no longer necessary in this matter. We do not know what
is happening. I apply that the charges against second accused be struck out. I want the court to
take note of the fact that we are suffering," he submitted.
However, Oyewole, ordered that first accused person in the matter, Nwude (whose health status
had led to adjournments in trial), should be taken by a team of officials of Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and his defence counsel, Chief G.O.K. Ajayi (SAN), to
Rad-Med Special Diagnostic Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos, for proper test on his ailment,
before treatment continues at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos.
According to a LUTH report dated February 10 and investigation carried out by Mr F.O.
Adetayo, Consultant Surgeon and Urologist, Nwude, aged 51 years, with Hospital No. 460933,
was diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia and chronic prostatitis, while he complained
of haematuria, a serious symptom which requires proper investigation to determine its cause.
419 Coalition Comment: It is the Defense in these proceedings
which has continually delayed them, so in this matter we'd suggest
that the attorney from the second defendant speak to the attorney
of the first defendant and get things underway. We do agree that
it is way past time to get matters moving against Both defendants,
let's get the show on the road.
9 MAR 2005
From the International Transport Workers Federation:
Nigerian fraudsters use 'UK' connection to scam jobseekers
Global union the ITF today issued a warning to anyone looking for work on
board ships and oil rigs that fraudsters have made Nigeria the new centre
for scams offering non-existent jobs for moneykers' Federati reports that three
known Nigerian criminal operations - including one purporting to be based in
Redhill, Surrey, England - are currently trying to defraud innocent
jobseekers worldwide. Their usual trick is to ask for 10 per cent of an
applicant's first month's wages for a job on a fictional ship that just
happens to be stopping at Port Harcourt, Nigeria, to where the money should
be paid.
David Cockroft, ITF General Secretary commented: "In the overcrowded field
of money for jobs at sea scams Nigeria has rocketed to the top of the list
of offenders. We repeat our warning that if you have to pay for a job in
advance, it probably doesn't exist. If the offer comes from Nigeria, then it
definitely doesn't. Charging seafarers for jobs is outlawed by ILO
Convention 179 - to which Nigeria is a signatory."
"The number of scams offering fake jobs on cruise and cargo ships and
oilrigs continues to grow, and it has been years since anyone has been
prosecuted for these crimes that often hit the world's poorest people. So
far the largest was the UAE based Al Najat scandal, whose Pakistani
perpetrator escaped with millions of dollars because none of the governments
who knowingly or otherwise cooperated with or hosted him would press
charges (http://www.itfglobal.org/press-area/index.cfm/pressdetail/337 ).
The longest running is Caledonian Offshore, supposedly based in Canada,
but actually run from Panama
(see http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/186 and
http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/198 ). We're glad
to say that following lobbying and our meeting with that country's Vice
President some kind of an investigation is finally underway there. But the
prize for the most prolific recent efforts goes to the fraudsters of Port
Harcourt." [Nigeria]
According to the ITF fraudulent organizations offering jobs on non-existent
ships in return for advance fees in the last six months include:
A fake operation calling itself 'Swift Consulting UK, 1st Floor, Furness
House, 53 Brighton Road, Redhill, Surrey, RH1 6PZ. Telephone +44
7040118143. Fax: +44 8716614073. Recruitment Officer Alan Smith.' The ITF
can confirm that there is no such company at the address. Callers to West
African-accented 'Adam Smith' are asked to send their seafarers'
certificates and promised jobs in return for a fee of US$350 (supposedly 10%
of the first month's wages to be earned). The money is to be paid via a
Western Union or similar money transfer to Port Harcourt, made out to Mr
Okechukwu Emeka, described as the accountant of Ideal Travel Agency, Inc of
Nigeria. In the last week the ITF has been contacted by seafarers from
Egypt, Poland and Russia inquiring about the company. All have received
messages from 'Swift Consulting UK' offering them jobs on the non-existent
ships SS Queen Ridge and MV Sea Goddess. The scamsters appear to have got
their contact details after they left their CVs on what they believed were
legitimate jobsearch websites.
One of these inquirers was also approached with a near identical deal of
work on the vessel 'Lucy Frontier', paying US$3,500 per month, in return for
a 10% 'agency fee'. The e-mail claimed to be from 'Mike Obi, Manning
Manager, Haddow Maritime Africa, 8th-10th Floor, Supabod Building, Azikiwe
Road, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, Tel: +23484480320'.
The names Mike Obi and Lucy Frontier also appear on another operation
identified by the ITF as fraudulent: Agent Africa Nigeria, which uses the
website http://www.agentafrica.xaper.com/index.html to defraud job seekers.
The site gives the address of '# 3 Onne Road, G.R.A, Port Harcourt, Rivers
State, 50001 Nigeria Tell (sic): 08027609549, Fax:084237536, email
aanig@xaper.com'. The ITF first issued a warning about Agent Africa
Nigeria/Hado Maritime/Haddow Maritime Africa in September 2004 (see
http://www.itfglobal.org/news-online/index.cfm/newsdetail/180 ). At that
time they claimed to have vacancies on the container vessel Maria, which
does exist but has no connection with Nigeria.
David Cockroft concluded: "In the past and in the absence of any police
action we have done our best to expose these hateful scams as quickly and
widely as possible, by naming them and their methods. However, in the case
of these Nigerian frauds it appears that the perpetrators are choosing to
use multiple names and email addresses, rather than, like Al Najat, remain
at one address under the benevolent eye of the UAE authorities or, like
Caledonian Offshore, seek to hide their office through a web of post boxes
and forwarding services. As a result we have little option but to warn
anyone looking for a job or who has been contacted with a job offer that at
any point asks for any kind of payment, even one from an apparently British
company, to look for a Nigerian connection and then treat the offer with the
contempt it deserves."
For more information contact ITF press officer, Sam Dawson. Direct line: +
44 (0)20 7940 9260. Email: dawson_sam@itf.org.uk International Transport
Workers' Federation - ITF: HEAD OFFICE ITF House, 49 - 60 Borough Road,
London SE1 1DS Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7403 2733, Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7375 7871.
Email: mail@itf.org.uk
***************************************
3 MAR 2005
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
419: Ajudua Faces Fresh 18-Count Charge
By Gboyega Akinsanmi
Barely a fortnight after a Lagos High Court refused his application for bail, an 18-count fresh
charge has been filed against an advanced free fraud king-pin, Chief Fred Ajudua, challenging
him for allegedly swindling a national of United States, Engineer Montia Rice over US$2million.
The charges arise from the submission of Ajudua's counsel, Mr Olalekan Ojo, who argued that
the previous charge preferred against him did not contain Rice's statement.
Indications also emerged that fresh charge preferred against the accussed person had been
transferred from Justice Oluyinka GbajaBiamila of the Lagos High Court to another court over
which Justice Sybil Nwaka presided.
No plea had been taken in the new charged, as a result of the fact that the accused person was
seriously sick and that the matter had been transferred to a new judge in the Lagos High Court.
Ajudua, after Justice Nwaka dismissed his application to quash the previous 14-count charge
preferred against him, had approached a Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, to challenge the
decision of the trial court which refused to grant his bail application.
In the fresh charge with No: LCD/8/05 endorsed by Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution
(DPP), Rice is listed as evidence-in-chief, as soon as the fresh trial commence before Justice
Nwaka.
Other prosecution witnesses include, Mr S. Dahunsi, a Superintendent of Police, Mr J. Idiata, a
Deputy Superindent of Police and Mr A. Fadairo, another Deputy Superindent of Police who
have been listed to witness at the trial. Ajudua is currently facing an 18-count charge in which he
was alleged of swindling and obtaining "money under false pretences contrary to Section 419
of the Criminal Code Law, Cap C17, Laws of Lagos State, 2003."
It is also indicated in the new charge that "Ajudua is charged for conspiracy to commit felony,
punishable under Section 516 of the Criminal Code Law, Cap C17, Volume 2 Laws of Lagos
State, 2003."
Particulars of offences states as follows: Fred Ajudua (m) on ot about June 10, 1995, at Lagos,
in the Lagos Judicial Division, obtained the sum of US $175,000.00 from Engineer Montia A.
Rice, through Crystal Bank of Africa Ltd of 17, Balogun Street, Lagos, by falsely pretending that
the sum was due and payable to the Federal Government of Nigeria as taxes on the purported
contract No: GF/GN/FMF/84 worth of US$12, 000,000.00.
In his statement with the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, Maryland State
Police, United States, Rice noted that "this statement, without reservation, declaresthe
document presented to the authorities in Lagos, Nigeria, claiming that I received N11million
on January 22, 1992 to be a complete fraud.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=10866
*************************************
2 MAR 2005
From the Financial Standard (Online) UK:
Transparency International boss lauds EFCC
Transparency International has lauded the establishment of the Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission to fight corruption in Nigeria.
Professor Peter Eigen, chairman of Transparency International, made this remark last week,
describing the creation of the EFCC by the federal government under the leadership of
President Olusegun Obasanjo as ‘more than one step in the right direction’.
Eigen who paid a courtesy call to Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, executive chairman of EFCC, said it is
clear that after the creation of the body, a lot has been done to change laws against corruption
in Nigeria and his body is happy that even the most powerful people in the society are being
dragged to courts to face charges of economic and financial crimes.
Commenting on the recent classification of Nigeria by Transparency International as the third
most corrupt country in the world, Eigen said the survey used did not include the recent
improvements in the country on the war against corruption and corrupt practices.
Mr. Ibrahim Balarabe, Media and Publicity Unit of EFCC said Eigen acknowledged that
Transparency International has not been completely fair to Nigeria in classifying it as the
third most corrupt country.
Earlier, Ribadu who had a close door session with the guest took him round the commission’s
Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), a department in charge of combating money
laundering and financing of terrorist activities in Nigeria.
************************************************
1 MAR 2005
The March 2005 US Edition of the Reader's Digest contains
an excellent article on 419: "The $100 Million Scam - And why
Americans keep falling for it" by Hal Karp. The piece is too
long to be reproduced here, but most libraries will have a copy
of this issue of RD. The piece contains a general description
of 419 and discusses the magnitude of the problem, and goes
on to describe the experiences of an Idaho man with a Black
Currency 419 scam.
As an aside, several issues iof the European edition of Reader's
Digest in several different languages have also carried stories on
419 in the past.
******************************************
26 FEB 2005
Here is the latest in from our Proud 419er in today (see 23
FEB 2005 news item below for his first note), which we post
here with its headers and our response, he really is refreshing
in his open rapacity, is he not:
Comment: DomainKeys? See http://antispam.yahoo.com/domainkeys
DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws;
s=s1024; d=yahoo.com;
b=s+WIdSzD0E/eHyfz95fEFEEdKZppo06m7DfsS536Y4mPuba68/K76efxtFINczCOABNz+XCO
44p97NKJKOga3BZmNlaR6iDEFyR06aHsRI2eDFwkmxo4Gdu+
77kLGGWGDTz0IivT2tsca1Kl0w9olzFT6h3vrxN6aB/U9XpAxXE= ;
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 07:13:00 -0800 (PST)
From: chichi ngozi
Subject: VIVA 419
To: "C. A. Pascale"
X-RBL: 80.88.139.238 is listed by bl.spamcop.net
Pascale,
I have just concluded a transaction with a greedy Australian. By 19hours GMT today, I will be
US$265,900 richer. I WILL MAIL YOU THE DETAILS LATER.
You guys can pulish what you like, as long as greedy people exist, I will always have
customers.
VIVA 419
PROUDLY NIGERIAN
PROUDLY 419
And our response:
Mr. Ngozi:
Thanks, we will be looking forward to the latest
installment.
Pascale
419 Coalition
*************************************
23 FEB 2005
We got an interesting note from a "Proud 419er" in today,
which we post here with its headers, for your perusal, enjoy:
Received: (qmail 24192 invoked from network); 24 Feb 2005 02:28:27 -0000
Received: from web41804.mail.yahoo.com (66.218.93.138)
by mx10.rmci.net with SMTP; 24 Feb 2005 02:28:27 -0000
Received: (qmail 21444 invoked by uid 60001); 24 Feb 2005 02:28:27 -0000
Comment: DomainKeys? See http://antispam.yahoo.com/domainkeys
DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; q=dns; c=nofws;
s=s1024; d=yahoo.com;
b=P4xJPzS64Eb7jaGHCAQJjtrkP0HtnCodJujNxZRleIj48BhSS5TKewEQhN/Lm/ZG7PAK8Pi3JoBBl TLb8dWBU90eCpJq1XP06zKr6PgeLr4oLiNlraIt4inPzo8IeHCY93rYcIkGbM+9NqbvaeUt8flNhdMAa/w WdJQ+9IjiGoU= ;
Message-ID: <20050224022827.21442.qmail@web41804.mail.yahoo.com>
Received: from [82.206.247.18] by web41804.mail.yahoo.com via HTTP; Wed, 23 Feb 2005 18:28:27 PST
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2005 18:28:27 -0800 (PST)
From: chichi ngozi
Subject: 419
To: info@freemaninstitute.com
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="0-1382324575-1109212107=:19743"
I AM A PROUD NIGERIAN 419NER. AS A MATTER OF FACT I BOUGHT THIS MY
COMPUTER FROM THE PROCEEDS OF MY LAST BUSINESS (US$23,345). I HAVE MADE
OVER US$600,000 IN THE LAST 4 YEARS AND YOU ARE TELLING ME TO LEAVE THIS
LUCRATIVE JOB. YOU ARE NOT SERIOUS. YOU EUROPEANS AND AMERICANS HAVE
NOT STARTED TO PAY. YOU WILL ALL PAY FOR:
CENTURIES OF SLAVE TRADE
THE COLONALISATION OF AFRICA
THE EXPLOTATION OF AFRICA'S RESOURCES AND THE IMOVERSHMENT OF HER
PEOPLE
GRANTING SANTUARY IN YOUR BANKS TO AFRICA'S STOLEN WEALTH.
NOTE:
THE U.S DEVELOPED ON THE BACKS OF SLAVES
THE U.K DEVELOPED FROM HER COLONY WHILE
SWITZERLAND IS DEVELOPING FROM STOLEN AFRICAN MONEIES IN HER BANK
VAULTS.
WE WILL DEVELOPE FROM 419. WE ARE TAKING BACK WHAT YOU GUYS STOLE FROM
AFRICA OVER THE LAST 5 CENTURIES. AFTER ALL WHAT ARE STOLEN AFRICAN ART
WORKS STILL DOING IN THE LONDON MUSEUM?
YOU GUYS WILL PAY. MY HAPPIEST DAY WAS WHEN 2 OF MY VICTIMS COMMITTED
SUCIDE AFTER LOOSING THIER ENTIRE PENSION FUND INVESTMENT. THIEVES. THEY
WANTED TO RIP WHERE THEY DID NOT SOW. I PROMISE YOU, IT HAS ONLY JUST
STARTED.
AT LEAST ONE THING I KNOW IS THAT I HAVE NEVER DEFRAUDED AN INNOCENT
PERSON. ALL MY VICTIMS ARE GREEDY THIEVES.
VIVA 419
PROUDLY NIGERIA
PROUDLY 419
And here was our response, as you can see we are true to
our word:
Sir:
Thank you for your frank note. We'll post it up in our news
section today and see to it that your views have the widest
possible circulation.
419 Coalition
*****************************************
18 FEB 2005
There have been arrests for 419 in Belgium, according
to the Belgian newspaper de Tijd, sent in by Ultrascan.
A rough English summary of the article would be:
in short it says: in total 5 arrested, of which 3 during a Tsunami scam
while meeting a french victim, Other Belgian victims were a notary,
the rector of a university and a couple officers of the court.
Found were 3 suitcases with 15 million low quality fake dollars
Here is the article in its original text, looks like Dutch:
Politie waarschuwt voor oplichting via spam-mails
(belga) - De federale politie waarschuwt voor een nieuwe oplichtingspraktijk via e-mail, de
zogenaamde oplichting 'à la Nigeriane'. In België hebben al enkele gerechtsdeurwaarders,
een notaris en een rector van een universiteit zich in de luren laten leggen, aldus de politie.
'De modus operandi is steeds dezelfde(, vertelde Glenn Audenaert, gerechtelijk directeur van
de gerechtelijke dienst van het arrondissement (GDA) Brussel. Per dag worden drie miljoen
spamberichten verstuurd via het internet. Daarin vertelt iemand uit Zuidoost-Azië dat zijn of haar
ouders, die succesvolle handelaars waren, zijn omgekomen bij de tsoenami van 26 december.
Die ouders hadden zogezegd een kapitaal in Europa, maar de wees is momenteel niet in staat
om dat geld zelf te gaan halen. 'In de mail wordt dus aan de ontvanger gevraagd het geld op te
halen, in ruil voor een fiks commissieloon', aldus Audenaert.
Europeanen die op de oproep reageren, worden voor een eerste ontmoeting uitgenodigd naar
een ander land. Daar ontmoeten ze zogenaamde mensen van een veiligheidsfirma, die koffers
vol valse dollarbiljetten hebben. 'Om het geld te krijgen moet het slachtoffer daar al tussen de
10.000 en 50.000 euro neertellen', vertelt Audenaert. Daarna wordt een nieuwe ontmoeting
geregeld om 'een consul om te kopen om het geld het land uit te krijgen'.
Vorige week woensdag heeft de afdeling witwassen van de GDA Brussel drie personen
kunnen oppakken die een Frans slachtoffer probeerden op te lichten. Daarbij werden drie
koffers met voor zowat 15 miljoen valse Amerikaanse dollars in beslag genomen.
In totaal werden tot nu toe al een vijftal mensen opgepakt die aan deze oplichting meewerkten.
'In drie kwart van de gevallen gaat het om Nigerianen', aldus Audenaert.'Deze methode
bestaat al een tiental jaar, maar het nieuwe is dat men nu de tsoenamiramp misbruikt om
slachtoffers op te lichten', stelt Glenn Audenaert. Er zijn momenteel verschillende
oplichtersbendes die dezelfde methode gebruiken en grensoverschrijdend werken.
Hoeveel mensen al het slachtoffer zijn geworden van deze techniek, is niet bekend. Heel veel
gedupeerden dienen geen klacht, omdat ze bang zijn dat hun zwart geld aan het licht zou
komen, of dat ze zelf beschuldigd zouden worden van witwaspraktijken.
'De gedupeerden handelden allemaal uit puur geldgewin', vertelt Audenaert. 'Tot nu toe
hebben we al weet van gerechtsdeurwaarders, een notaris en een rector van een universiteit
die zich hebben laten oplichten', luidt het.
Here is a link to the article for as long as it is good:
http://www.tijd.be/nieuws/artikel.asp?Id=1596537
****************************************************
18 FEB 2005
From the ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
Senate Passes ‘419’ Bill
From Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja, 02.17.2005
The Senate yesterday finally passed the amendment to Advance Fee Fraud
Act, which would check the use of cyber cafe facility to commit offences.
The bill, when assented to by President Olusegun Obasanjo, compels
operators of electronic communication service, to obtain from their customers,
their full names and addresses and provide them on demand to the regulatory
agencies.
Internet Service Providers who fail to or supplie false information would have
committed an offence and could be jailed for one year or fined N100, 000, while
owners of such facilities would on conviction pay N100,000 and have their
equipment seized.
A section of the Bill also provides that owners of electronic telecommunication
houses must maintain a register of all fixed line customers, which could be
inspected by any authorised officer of the National Communications Co-
mmission (NCC), even as it further provided that anybody who uses the non-
fixed line or the Global System of Mobile Communications should submit to the
Commission necessary data required by the Commission.
419 Coalition Note: Very impressive, if this bill is massively enforced.
Time will tell, let us hope for the best. We'd like to see a provision added
which specifically gives the EFCC access to all this data on demand.
**********************************************
8 FEB 2005
From Vanguard, a Nigerian newspaper:
Money laundering: Bank chairmen, CEOs now co-offenders, says CBN
By Babajide Komolafe & Yinka Kolawole
LAGOS-THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that chairmen, board members and chief
executives of banks "will not be spared if their institutions are found to have been used as
vehicles for the transfer of proceeds of crime." The CBN threatened to penalise bank
executives that allow their banks to be used for fraudulent funds transfer.
The apex bank gave this warning in a circular entitled: "The unprofessional roles of banks in
funds transfer," issued February 1, 2005, and signed by the Director of Banking Supervision
Department, Mr Ignatius Imala.
The CBN said: "In recent times, the media has been replete with stories of unprofessional
activities by banks in facilitating the movement of criminally acquired funds. The release of
the Know Your Customer (KYC) Guidelines and Manual Ref: BSD/DO/CIR/VOL.I/01/24 of
November 28, 2001 and BSD/14/2002 of December 19, 2002 respectively, by the CBN, was
intended to guide banks in ensuring that they were not used as conduits for moving such funds.
Furthermore, the reports of the CBN examiners on several '419' and other irregular transfer
cases had led to the imposition of penalties on the affected banks to serve as a deterrent.
According to the circular, "The reports of the unprofessional roles of banks in the 'bad
business' is increasingly becoming embarrassing to the industry and should be totally
checked. While it is expected that the on-going consolidation and the strengthening of the
capital base of the banks will lead to sound, more professional and better managed institutions,
all the operators in the industry are hereby advised in their own interest to diligently review
their processes in total compliance with the KYC guidelines and manuals referred to above.
"They are also advised to note that the CBN Governor's special e-mail address
governor@cenbank.org for capturing information on malpractices by banks is still available to
the public. Only the Governor of CBN has access to this web address, and information sent to it
is treated with utmost confidentiality.
"The chairmen, board members and chief executives of the banks, in line with their oversight
functions, are, therefore, advised to take these matters very seriously as they will not be spared
if their institutions are found to have been used as vehicles for the transfer of proceeds of
crime," the circular said.
419 Coalition comment: We are under the impression that monies sent
in and out of Nigeria are often "transited" through CBN, which functions
like a combination of a Bank of England and the Federal Reserve in
the Nigerian banking structure. We ask - what will CBN to do punish
Itself when laundered monies pass through it? Also, 419 Coalition
asks When will the affairs of Paul Ogwuma, ex -Governor of CBN, be
looked into, recalling that Ogwuma was named as a principal in
several 419 cases and was even hauled in to US Court and forced
to give a deposition as a defendant in a 419 lawsuit? Also recalling
that he has been named as a principal in other 419 cases that have not
come to court? Most assuredly, his financial affairs should be examined
by the EFCC, if only to "remove all doubt" that he has been complicit
in 419 activities over the years.
*************************************************
21 JAN 2005
From ThisDay, a Nigerian newspaper:
Again, Court Refuses Nwude Bail Application
By Abimbola Akosile and Amina Amali
An Ikeja High Court judge, Justice Olubunmi Oyewole has dismissed a second bail application
filed by Ch g Advance Fee Fraud a.k.a.
419 trial involving $242million. The judge refused the application on the grounds that it
application was incompetent.
Nwude, who is standing trial in the four-month old matter alongside Mrs. Amaka Anajemba, (2nd
accused) and Mr. Nzeribe Edeh Okoli, in a de novo (fresh) trial, which began on October 5, was
not in court at last adjourned date (on Wednesday). He is currently under -going treatment at the
National Hospital, Abuja, allegedly for a kidney-related ailment, and his absence stalled the
trial.
The presiding judge, who earlier ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC) to obtain a medical report on accused's health status, in a bid to determine continuation
of trial, however refused and rejected the bail application filed by Nwude, through his counsel,
Chief Alex Izinyon, SAN.
A mild argument occurred between Izinyon and lead prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs,
on the issue of medical report ordered by the court. Jacobs accused Izinyon of going behind
him, contrary to court orders, to obtain the report from the hospital. Izinyon also countered that
Jacobs was only concerned about the trial, and not his client's state of health, when he wrote a
letter to the hospital asking that Nwude be transferred to Lagos to face trial.
Ruling on the bail application, Justice Oyewole claimed an appeal on his earlier ruling on bail
request (filed by Nwude) was pending before the Court of Appeal, and granting the fresh
application would amount to stepping on the higher court's jurisdiction. He added that he will do
that, unless the accused files a notice of discontinuance, or the notice is struck out by the higher
court.
The judge also claimed there was no deviation in the new medical report on the accused
applicant (Izinyon told the court his client was stooling blood), which would have warranted a
fresh application for bail being granted. He thereafter refused and dismissed the bail
application, and adjourned the matter till February 9,11,14,15 & 16 for continuation of trial.
First arraigned in Abuja on February 4th, 2004, accused persons, were alleged to have
defrauded a Brazilian banker, Mr. Nelson Sakaguchi of a sum of $242million over a three-year
period, from April 2, 1995 to January 20, 1998 at Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos State, contrary to Sections
1(1)(a) and (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud Act of 1995 as amended by Act 62 of 1998.
The amount was said to represent payment due to the Federal Government on the alleged
contract No. FMA/132/019/82 for the construction of Abuja International Airport, Nigeria.
Penalties for each of the counts range between seven and ten years. The accused persons are
facing a fresh 98 count charge, with twelve additional counts.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=7546
**********************************************
14 JAN 2005
From the Daily Independent (Online) a Nigerian
newspaper:
Alleged 419 : Nwude is dying, counsel tells court
By Victor Efeizomor
Law Reporter.
The Advance Fee Fraud suspect, and a former director of Union Bank Plc,
Emmanuel Nwude, standing trial for allegedly defrauding a Brazilian bank of
$247 million is said to be seriously ill and currently in the intensive care
unit of an Abuja hospital.
The suspect is to undergo a second major surgical operation at the Abuja
General Hospital next week to be performed by a team of neurologists and
brain specialists to stabilise his health condition.
Emmanuel Ofulue, counsel to Nwude who made this known on Thursday at the
resumed trial at an Ikeja High Court, told the presiding judge, Justice Joseph
Oyewole that the health condidtion of his client was critical adding that "Since
he was admitted , I visited him and the condition was serious and he is
considering a second operation. We are grateful to the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allowing him to go back to the
hospital, where he was operated upon," he said.
But controverting the claims, Rotimi Jacobs, an EFCC lawyer and prosecution
counsel stated that Nwude’s condition was not as serious as the defence
counsel wants the court to believe ,adding that he could not contact the doctor
handling the case on his visit to the hospital to ascertain the true position of
the accused person.
Oyewole, on that score ordered that a medical report should be forwarded to
state the true position of Nwude’s health and dismissed an oral application brought
by Amaka Anajemba, one of the suspects standing trail ,asking the court to grant
her limited and conditional bail in view of the recent development.
Arguing the application, Anajemba’s counsel, Chris Uche (SAN) told the court
that the condition under which his client was being detained is in such a terrible
state as it has started having serious impact on her health , saying that Amaka
is a victim of circumstance.
"I am asking that if she is granted limited bail, she will regularly attend the court
proceedings to stand her trial. We will agree to any condition, even if it amounts
to reporting to EFCC on a weekly basis. She has enough property of her own
and she will not run away from the country", Uche pleaded with the court.
Jacobs countered the defense counsels argument, positing that the issue of
bail has already been decided by the court when the judge dismissed the
application which is at the court of appeal and that the lower court has no
jurisdiction to decide on a case before the appellate court. He said the
defense can not come to accuse the prosecution of delaying trial when it was
he who has been frustrating the trial.
Here is the URL of the piece for as long as it is good:
http://www.independentng.com/news/nnjan140514.htm
Vanguard and ThisDay also covered the story, here are
the respective URL's for as long as they are good:
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/southwest/sw314012005.html
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=6938
*******************************************
12 JAN 2005
From the Miami Herald:
Miami, Florida: Nigerian scam suckers professor; $1.68 million in money
laundered
By Nick Farrell
Miami law professor, with three doctorates, who is in the centre of a money
laundering court case, claims he is a victim of the Nigerian scam.
University of Miami law professor Enrique Fernandez-Barros has told the
Miami Herald that he thought he had been emailed by the the Nigerian
government for help reviewing some infrastructure contracts.
A "Nigerian official" promised in late 2003 to pay him for legal services if he
would help the government and a Nigerian businessman recoup $1.68 million
from a US truck-leasing company.
Fernandez-Barros would get $200,000 in fees for this and other work. He
apparently didn't seem to notice any problems with the English in the email, or
anything else that suggested it was a Nigerian scam other than the fact it came
from Nigera. Still that is a high powered education for you.
Later Fernandez-Barros received an altered cheque from Penske Truck
Leasing which he deposited it in his credit-union account and later had the
money wired to Nigeria.
Now Penske say that the money was taken illegally and they want it back.
Fernandez-Barros, 73 says he never got any cash out of the Nigerians.
Penske is going after its own bank, Fleet National, which approved the
professor's transaction, and the University Credit Union, an independent
provider of banking services for UM employees and students.
Fernandez-Barros has not been charged or sued.
********************************************
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News
07-03-2009 Zwendelaar Stanford ook witwasser
Ultrascan raakte op het spoor van het witwasschandaal tijdens een onderzoek naar de handel in nepaandelen vanuit de Filippijnen. Volgens woordvoerder Frank Engelsman staat het witwasschandaal geheel los van de fraude van acht miljard dollar die onlangs aan het licht kwam. ''Die zaak is kinderspel vergeleken bij de bedragen die werden witgewassen.''
09-11-2008 ZEMBLA We weten alles van u
Gegevens van Nederlandse creditcard houders zijn te koop op Russische criminele sites. Voor vijf dollar per stuk kocht het televisie programma ZEMBLA acht willekeurige ‘personages’: hun namen, huisadressen, e-mailadressen, telefoonnummers en creditcard -gegevens. Met die gegevens heeft ZEMBLA probleemloos aankopen gedaan.
07-11-2008 NOS Journaal - Creditcardgegevens te koop op web.
Gegevens van creditcardhouders uit Nederland zijn via internet te koop op Russische websites. Dat meldt Zembla in een uitzending die
zondagavond wordt uitgezonden.
29-08-2008 How Nigerian politics affect your inbox
OTTAWA — You may never have heard of Nuhu Ribadu, but you will likely feel the impact now that he has been unceremoniously dumped from his job as head of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission in Nigeria.
Just watch your e-mail inbox.
05 june 2008 BBC uncovers UK-Nigerian scam
The BBC has uncovered eviden ce that a growing number of Nigerian fraudsters are operating from within the UK.
Victims are promised a lottery win or inheritance but must pay cash up front, which the criminals then keep. Anna Adams reports.
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Alerts and press releases
05-03-2009 Report incriminates Stanford Int. Offshore Bank
The report outlines the suspicions, including number of bank accounts, names and account details, that the Stanford International Bank has been involved in an international money laundering scheme of shocking magnitude that has spread its tentacles throughout the world.
12-12-2008 Van Gaststudent tot Cybercrime Miljonair
'Er is genoeg voor iedereen’
Business case scenario van Cyber Criminelen. Het is vrijdag nacht 2 december 2005 in een Zuid-Europese kustplaats. Peter, een 17 jaar oude IT gaststudent, mag voor de eerste keer mee met zijn vrienden om skim-apparatuur te plaatsen op bank automaten in de buurt.
09-11-2008 Identiteitsfraude op bestelling
Ultrascan toont in Zembla aan hoe gemakkelijk het is om gestolen creditcardgegevens via het internet aan te schaffen en vervolgens te misbruiken door het aanschaffen van goederen via internet of het cashen van geld bij een ATM
17-03-2008 Case study of a high loss victim
John, a PhD graduate who has run his family's wine business, first fell victim to a scam in 2001. Seven years and more than $500,000 later he is still sending money to fraudsters in the hope that one more payment will release the long-promised rewards.
01-02-2008 Three Defendants Plead Guilty in Advance-Fee Fraud
WASHINGTON – Three defendants pleaded guilty to federal charges of running an “advance-fee” scheme that targeted U.S. victims with promises of millions of dollars, including money from an estate and a lottery, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell of the Eastern District of New York announced today.
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