Dear TANKO YAKASSI,

I am sure that this letter will not come to you as a surprise, since you contacted a friend of your father who is working at the Chamber of Commerce in Dubai to assist you to seek for a reliable, honest and well-established individual that has business foresight, and he then gave you my contact as the person he believes will do a fair transaction with you.

I know only one person who works in the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, so I must assume it was he who recommended me. I find this remarkable, as I haven’t seen Jamil since the unpleasantness in Monaco. I am delighted to know that he is prepared to let bygones be bygones, and, moreover, that he is publicly acknowledging my honesty. Quite a change from his behavior at the baccarat table in Monte Carlo, I must say! Still, if Jamil is willing to forgive the admittedly severe wounds I inflicted on his person, I will forgive his ill-considered attack on my character.

TANKO, I am deeply saddened to hear that your father, Osman Yakassi, former Director-General of the Government of Gold and Diamond Office (GDDO) in Freetown, was attacked by rebels of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Kono, Eastern Sierra Leone. How tragic that he survived the bullet wounds and was hospitalised at the Connaught Hospital in Freetown only to later die of internal bleeding. You must find it small comfort that before he died, he revealed to you that he has US$ 35.MILLION in an Iron Crate which he lodged in a security company for safe keeping in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Before our falling out, Jamil often spoke of your father’s legendary foresight, so I am not surprised at your news that he registered the contents of the box as gold and diamonds which belongs to him and his foreign partner, and that he also confided in you that he kept the certificate of the deposit and the keys of the box in his safe.

Your ability to trace the address of the security company in Dubai is indeed a credit to your father’s memory. And while it is a shame that the Director of the security company was not willing to accept merely the receipt for collection of the box, you must have been glad when he agreed for the release provided you can come along with the foreign partner who is involved in the transaction.

Your proposal that I come as the foreign partner concerned so that we can retrieve the money from the security company is an interesting one, and your decision that for all assistance and inconveniences, 20% of the total sum would be mine, while the rest of the remaining balance will be put into investment opportunities in any profitable areas I might suggest in my country or any where else I trust is truly generous, and of course the frequent flier miles I would accumulate through round-trip travel to the United Arab Emirates would be icing on the cake.

Unfortunately, I have business interests in Guatemala that demand my immediate attention, and, lacking your father’s uncanny foresight, I cannot guess how long I will be engaged. As you have already indicated the urgency of your request, I certainly don’t expect you to wait until I have concluded my business in Mazatenango.

But, TANKO, do not despair, as I have I proposition sure to please all parties involved.

I was recently contacted by DR. GEORGE IBRAHIM, a top official of a Cote d’Ivoire Federal Government contract review panel who is interested in importation of goods into his country with funds which are presently trapped in Cote d’Ivoire. In order to commence this business he solicited my assistance to enable him transfer into my account the said trapped funds.

Dr. George also solicited my strictest confidence in this transaction, which by virtue of its nature as being utterly confidential and TOP SECRET, but as an associate of his assured him of my ability and reliability to prosecute a transaction of great magnitude involving a pending business transaction requiring maximum confidence, I’m sure he would trust my judgment in proposing your involvement.

The source of this fund is, Dr. George has indicated, as follows: During the last regime of General Rorbert Gaui in Cote d’Ivoire some government officials set up companies and awarded themselves contracts which were grossly over invoiced in various ministries. The government set up a contract review panel and they have identified a lot of inflated contracts funds which are presently Deposited in a BANK in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

However, by virtue of his position as a civil servant and member of the panel, he cannot acquire this money in his name. He has therefore been delegated as a matter of trust by his colleagues of the panel to look for an overseas partner into whose account they would transfer the total sum of USD $25,500,000.00 [TWENTY MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS].

Perhaps you’ve already guessed where I’m going with this, TANKO.

Dr. George has agreed to share 20% of the money with the account holder, and I’m sure would also be so grateful for your assistance that he would gladly travel to Dubai to serve as your foreign partner.

In order to commence the transfer of these funds into your account in your country without delay and also to open an account in your name, Dr. George requires only the following information from you:

Your personal telephone number and fax numbers,
Bank account/sort/aba/routing numbers which the fund will be transferred to, and
Your bank address, telephone numbers/fax numbers.

I would be happy to assist Dr. George, but unfortunately I’ve never been very good at distinguishing a routing number from an account number, and as his business is clearly of significant import, I hesitate to create unwarranted delays.

Please feel free to contact Dr. George directly regarding this matter at dr_george2001@hellas.net.

Wishing you both a mutually beneficial business arrangement,

Jane