Two men from Africa's Cameroon and Congo have been arrested for cheating a businessman of Rs.80 lakh on the pretext of cleaning dollars painted with black ink to their original form, police said on Monday.
Kamleu Nya Alain, a 43-year-old from Cameroon, and Mwanza Nawej Yesh, a 42-year-old from Congo, were arrested on Sunday near a hotel in Civil Lines area of north Delhi.
They have been booked on charges of dishonestly receiving stolen property and cheating under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, and also under the Foreigners Act.
Police said both the accused reside in Mehrauli area of south Delhi.
"Alain came to India in May 2015 and was staying here without a valid passport and visa. Yesh has been residing in India for the last three years without a valid passport and visa," Deputy Commissioner of Police Madhur Verma said.
He said police seized two packets containing black papers, claimed to contain $1 million each, five packets of photocopies of Indian rupees in the denomination of Rs.1,000, two bottles of chemical substances used to clean the black paper and a kit, used for demonstration to clients converting the black paper to white.
The two accused, in connivance with a man named Rozer, who also hails from an African country and is absconding so far, cheated Delhi businessman Aditya Bondwal to the tune of Rs.80 lakh on the pretext of providing him $1 million 'black dollars' by cleaning and changing it to the original form.
Police said Alain and Yesh came to India on tourist visas and met Rozer.
"They all planned to cheat Indians through this black dollar fraud. Rozer met Aditya Bondwal in Delhi during the India Africa Summit 2016. Rozer won his confidence and concocted a 'black dollar' story," the officer said.
Rozer showed interest in Bondwal's business and proposed to invest $1 million.
Rozer told Bondwal that his father Marafa Hamidou Yaya, who used to be the right-hand man of Cameroon President Paul Biya, was in jail since 2012 and all his accounts were blocked. And so he did not have any legal money.
In his next meeting, Rozer told Bondwal he has got $1 million painted with black ink.
Rozer said the money could pass through customs in only in its black form, but it can be changed into its original form by cleaning.
He took Rs.30 lakh from Bondwal in the name of cleaning the black dollars, saying a costly ink and powder were required for the purpose.
He then introduced Bondwal with both Alain and Yesh, saying they were experts in cleaning black dollars, police said.
Bondwal, who is a manufacturer of construction equipment, informed police that Alain and Yesh took Rs.50 lakh more from him.
The accused were asking more money from Bondwal, saying the quality of ink and powder was not that good, and so they needed to get better quality ink and for that purpose, they needed Rs.42 lakh more, police said.
