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Indian Banks...Facilitating International Frauds?
Internet users are already aware of frauds of the "Nigerian 419" type and the "Lottery Prize" type. Though new Internet users continue to be victims of these frauds, it has become necessary to warn the public of an even more menacing fraud revolving around "Jobs" and luring Indians who are on the look out for foreign jobs.
Naavi.org had already brought to the notice of public frauds in which a person in India receives a lucrative job offer stating to the effect that "based on the resume we have come across in a job site we are pleased to advise you that we have selected your application for the post of ..." etc. This unsolicited job offer is the beginning of a fraud which will slowly extract money in the pretext of application processing fee, Visa processing fee etc.
Recently, we have also come across a job offer scam run in the name of a Canadian Hotel. Under this scam, a lady by name Rosy Christiana (Remember that in future this name may change) sends out e-mails and offers a job to a group of people in a Canadian Hotel "Omni". She then demands payment of processing fee etc which is remitted to a Gambian person by name Donald Jones through a Bank Trust Bank Ltd. Mr Jones is represented as the Afro Asian Immigration agent for Canada.
This scam appears to be going on for over six months and victims have been from different countries such as Philippines, Pakistan, Egypt, Nepal etc. The attraction is immigration into Canada.
It may be remembered that the Canadian Immigration authorities themselves participated some time back in a promotional campaign in Chennai canvassing people on various opportunities available in Canada. I suppose such promotional campaigns might have been conducted in most of the developing countries and this could be the origin of this fraud.
What intrigues me as an Ex-Banker however is that how the Bankers in India fail to alert their customers when they come up with a request to make remittances of large amounts of foreign exchange to unknown persons in countries such as Gambia or Nigeria. Are they so innocent that they have not heard of Nigerian Frauds? Or Do they not care?. Any export official in a Bank is aware of what is called a "Country Risk" and there are strict guidelines mostly from ECGC telling them not to discount any export bills to certain countries etc. Is it not the responsibility of RBI to warn these Banks about the risks in sending remittances to some of these countries since this is as much an erosion of the country's wealth as an unrealized export bill.
More importantly, most of these scam funds can be reasonably expected to land in international illegal activities and therefore come under the Money laundering provisions. Any Banker who blindly allows remittance of money will therefore be guilty under the Money Laundering Act for lack of due diligence. In a recent instance of the Canadian fraud, it has come to our notice that the Banker has advised the customer that according to permitted remittances, the amount can be remitted only as a "Gift" and accordingly recorded the payment made by the scam victim as a "Gift". By this act the Banker has actually indulged in the fraud himself by facilitating the flow of funds.
I can vouch with confidence that Bankers such as the undersigned would have smelt a rat if a poor villager came to him and said that he wants to remit US S 3500 to one Mr Jones in Gambia because he has promised a job in Canada and would have strongly dissuaded the remittance instead of assisting him with suggestions to send it as "Gift". This also indicates that the present training system in Banks is faulty and the Branch Bankers are no longer the responsible custodians of public faith but are acting merely as "Money Shoppers".
Can such negligent Bankers be booked under law for facilitating the fraud?...one can ponder.
More details of the Canadian Hotel Omni Job Offer fraud can be found here.
Naavi
September 30, 2006
