NBI nabs 2 Cameroonians in ‘black dollar’ scam

MANILA: Two Cameroonian nationals were arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation-Cybercrime Division (NBI-CCD) in Taguig City during a sting operation on "black dollar" scam, the agency said Thursday. The 'black dollar' scam involves convincing victims to pay money for chemicals purportedly needed to convert counterfeit currency into real dollars. The NBI identified the suspects as Khan Fonkam and his brother, Awa Fonkam, who were arrested at Bonifacio Global City on Wednesday in an operation ordered by Director Jaime Santiago following a complaint against a certain 'Dr. Paul.' The complainant said 'Dr. Paul' introduced himself and expressed interest in investing in the Philippines. On July 5, 2024, they met at a hotel in Makati City where the complainant gave 'Dr. Paul' PHP400,000. The latter then started the 'decoding process' by putting the money in a foil with powder together with the dollars, and soaking the same in hot water. 'Dr. Paul' instructed the complainant not to open the foil to allo w it to ferment in the chemicals for 24 hours. Becoming suspicious, the complainant opened the package when he arrived home and found black papers inside the foil. When he contacted 'Dr. Paul', the latter said he would not be able to meet him and set a meeting on July 9, 2024 instead, and asked for an additional PHP50,000 to buy more chemicals for the conversion process. Upon further research, the victim discovered that 'Dr. Paul' is actually Khan Fonkam, who had been previously arrested by the NBI-CCD on May 31, 2024, prompting him to report the matter to the NBI. The arrested suspects were brought to the Office of the City Prosecutor, Taguig City for inquest proceedings for estafa under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code, and Illegal Possession and Use of False Treasury or Bank Notes and Other Instruments under Article 168 of the Revised Penal Code, all in relation to Section 6 of RA No. 10175 (Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012). Source: Philippines News Agency