National Police officers in Alicante stopped a scam by catching a 58-year-old Nigerian man in the act of trying to pull off the “washwash scam.” This scam makes the victim think that they can multiply legal tender banknotes by putting chemicals on black-tinted paper.
The hoax started when the individual who was arrested called the victim, who owned some commercial property in Alicante, and said he wanted to buy it for more than a million euros. He was able to grab the victim’s attention with this bait, and they set up another meeting when he said he had brought the money from Switzerland and asked them to go to a safe spot with him.
When the victim opened the briefcase, the suspected scammer found layers of black paper, talcum powder, and fake money wrapped in plastic. He then said he had a “family secret”: a chemical way to turn these coloured papers into real banknotes. He used two 50-euro notes that he had given the victim to “demonstrate” that they were authentic. He wrapped them in aluminium foil with other dark papers and then poured liquids over them to make them look like actual banknotes.
After this staged scene, the prisoner requested the owner for €400,000 in cash in different denominations and promised to turn it into €1,100,000 using his chemical method. He even came back days later to bring more tools and products, telling the owner that everything would be ready for the last operation.
But before giving the money, the victim got suspicious and went to the Alicante Provincial Police Station’s Economic and Fiscal Crime Unit to tell them what had happened. The detectives determined that it was a complicated fraud called “washwash” and quietly set up surveillance outside the victim’s house to catch the fake buyer.
On the day they were supposed to meet, the police saw the suspect hanging around the area, trying to avoid being seen. He finally went into the building where the victim was waiting and was detained just as he was about to start the alleged manipulation of the monies. At the site, police took all the chemicals, tools, and other things that were meant for the scam.
The police stopped losses of up to €400,000. After the arrest, the paperwork was sent to the courts in Alicante that were looking into the case.
Author: Derek Appleton
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