SOUTH Korean have arrested three Nigerians for allegedly obtaining millions of dollars from Citibank with a forged document purportedly from Ethiopia's central bank.DEAREST SIR OR MADAME
Police said the suspects were caught on Monday in Seoul following a tip-off from a local bank employee as they tried to withdraw money from a bank account. It had been frozen at Citibank's request.
In August the trio allegedly sent a forged payment request from the Ethiopian central bank to Citibank in New York. They asked for more than $US30 million ($45m) to be sent to bank accounts in several countries, including South Korea, China and Tanzania. "Citibank apparently transferred most of the money, including nine billion won ($9.5m) sent to four local banks in Seoul,''
| The Nigerians had already handed over most of the eight billion won to unspecified Ethiopians. |
Han Jeong, a senior police officer at Yongsan, told Yonhap news agency the Nigerians had already handed over most of the eight billion won to unspecified Ethiopians. "After belatedly discovering that the documents had been forged, Citibank notified the Korean banks,'' Mr Han said.
Two of the suspects were in South Korea on business visas while a third was an illegal immigrant. Their names were withheld. "We're working closely with police in their investigation,'' a Citibank Korea spokeswoman said. Police said Citibank officials told them that the forged document looked authentic and had the signatures of the central bank governor and directors.