On January 12, 2023, an individual named ‘Charles Tam’ sent a message on WhatsApp to this newspaper using an UK phone number +447392725178, stating he is “procurement officer” at “SC Johnson Inc UK branch” and was looking for ‘Precatoria Oil Extract’. While he claimed to be a native English man, when he called our correspondent, it was clear that he actually is an African national. Subsequently he sent an email from an email address [email protected] stating:
Product Name: Name of the product is PRECATORIA OIL EXTRACT.
Usage: The chemical product is of high demand by my company as it is
essential in our production of animal vaccine. We usually procure it
from Eastern Europe at a high cost. But at present it is very scarce
in the European market due to the current Russia/Ukraine war and this
has affected our production immensely.
Composition: The standard quality of the product that our company
approves for our production is composed of:-
FFA STANDARD: 3%.
-IODINE VALUE: 100%
BROKEN: 5%,
HUMIDITY: 12%
LIGUSTICUM WALLICHII: 12%.
PURITY 100.3%
Supply plan:
As the procurement officer in our company, SC Johnson Inc UK branch, I
have been seeking information to find the product in other continents
and I have been privileged to know that it is available in India at a
far lower price. Being that your country, Bangladesh is close to India
and also considering that there is open trade relationship between
both countries, I have contacted you to source and supply the product
to our company taking advantage of the lower price that it is being
sold in India.
The packaging comes in 500ml or 1litre. At present we need minimum 125
litres to commence production. We usually buy the product for $3,700
per Litre in Europe but I have gathered that same quantity is sold for
about $1,600 by some identified local dealers in India now with good
quality. This gives a huge price difference of $2,100 per litre which
is a big advantage. our company will be so glad to do business with
you and could give you the right as a permanent supplier if you
deliver effectively in our first order.
How our company will transact with you:
- You source the product from a local dealer in India at a lower
price, and give a quote to my company at a higher price, a rate that
should be close to the amount we normally buy in Europe. When you
establish contact with the local dealer, you will first procure a very
little quantity that you send to our company as the sample. Before you
procure the sample, you have to ensure that the composition of the
product meets our company’s required standard as above. -
If the quality of the sample is good and confirmed, our company
will place order for you to supply the required quantity of 125 litres
needed for production. Once rapport has been duly established between
you and our company, funds will be processed for advance payment to
you for the order. -
The price difference between what you will procure the product from
the local dealer and the price you will quote to supply our company
will be a huge profit and this is where my personal interest lies with
you. This is personal interest which I would want us to protect in the
supply plan. By this I mean you will compensate me with 50 percentage
of the profit. -
While you endeavor to locate a dealer, I will also consult with
colleagues in other companies of the same production line with us in
Europe to gather information about any reliable dealer they know in
India whose product is of standard. When I have such information, I
will send to you so that you contact them to easily transact with
them. With your level of exposure on business, I believe you can
handle the supply effectively.
I wait for your reply.
Charles Tam
As we investigated the matter it was revealed there is no such company named SC Johnson Inc., in anywhere in the world, while a gang of African scammers are now contacting plenty of people throughout the world, particularly South Asian countries with an ulterior motive of scamming.
In March 2019 The Times of India in a report said:
Fraudsters executed a three-pronged con, cheating a local export-import company of nearly Rs 60 lakh.
In August 2018, the company received an email, purportedly from a company with presence in the US and the Netherlands. In the email, a woman asked them to procure Glyroforlia Herbal extract oil at 2,000 USD per litre.
The woman said she would in turn sell the oil for 3,000 USD. She offered 50% of the profits to the complainant’s firm.
The complainant’s company agreed and ordered 1 litre from the Guwahati company. The US-based firm then increased its order. In all, the firm transferred Rs34.87 lakh to the bank accounts of the Guwahati company.
A few days later, the firm cancelled the order. Even the Assamese company stopped responding.
At this point, the US firm told the Indian company that a man was willing to purchase 1,500 litres of oil and would make an advance payment in cash through his colleague.
On November 27, the “colleague” called the Indian businessman, claiming he was caught by customs officials with a huge amount of foreign currency, and sought money to get himself released. Between November 27 and December 13, the ‘colleague’ pocketed Rs24.32 lakh.
In August 2021 The Star published a report titled ‘Cops identify scam involving sale of herbal oil allegedly used in Covid-19 vaccines’.
In June 2019, Indian newspaper The Hindu in a report titled ‘Foreign national held for running herbal oil scam’ said “A 39-year-old foreign national was arrested for allegedly running a herbal oil scam and duping at least two people of ₹1.5 crore, the police said”.
In August 2021, Malaysian newspaper Harakah Daily published a scam alert report titled ‘Police investigating precatoria oil scam, for alleged vaccine production’ stating: “Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department (CCID) director Datuk Mohd Kamarudin Md Din said they have received five complaints from victims over losses amounting to RM128,498, and based on investigations, the syndicate behind the scam would send emails to the targeted companies offering to sell precatoria oil”.
In December 2021, The New Indian Express in a report said, “The State Cyber Crime Cell has arrested a man from Mumbai for his involvement in an alleged scam of selling oils to cure cancer. The arrested person was identified as Ravindra Yadav. He was part of a gang led by Nigerians that cheated people promising huge returns if they sell the oil”.
There are plenty of such reports, mostly in Asian newspaper about Nigerian scam rackets in particular running such fraudulent activities.
