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A 30-year-old Nigerian man in connection with an e-mail scam valued at US$26 million was today (May 15) charged.

Enquiries revealed that in late March e-mails 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 the transfer via a Hong Kong bank account to a foreign bank account.

One of the recipients reported the case to the Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB) on April 29.

Arrangements were made to hold a meeting in a hotel room in Wan Chai on May 14 between the swindler and two CCB officers with one of them posing as an recipient who had been maintaining contact with the swindler.

After the swindler expressed that the fund would be ready for transfer early next week provided that the officers let him use their bank account and urged the officers to pay an administration fee of US$24,000, the swindler was arrested at the meeting.

A subsequent search on the man's accommodation in Yuen Long uncovered two faked passports and three forged rubber stamps.

The man was today charged with obtaining property by deception, possessing a false instrument, using a false instrument and possessing equipment for making a false instrument.

He will appear in Eastern Magistrates' Courts for trial on May 17.

Police Report No.2

Issued by PPRB

End/1800hours, Saturday, May 15, 2004 (PW)

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