Schneier on Security

Anonymous • February 20, 2007 3:35 PM

Dear Friend,

I introduce myself as Mark .H. Wildman, Global Head of Offshore Banking at Deutsche Bank. A contracted staff of Perez and Hamilton contacted you earlier concerning Mr. Moser Arrington and an investment placed under our banks management 9 years ago.
I would respectfully request that you keep the contents of this mail confidential and respect the integrity of the information you come by as a result of this mail. I contact you independently of our investigation and emphasize the reason of this communication. I would like to intimate you with certain facts that I believe would be of interest to you.

In 1996 the subject matter; Moser came to our bank to engage in business discussions with our private banking division. He informed us that he had a financial portfolio of Nineteen million United States dollars, which he wished to have us turn over (invest) on his behalf. I was the officer assigned to his case, I made numerous suggestions in line with my duties as the de-facto global head of the Offshore banking sector, especially given the volume of funds he wished to put into our bank.

We met on numerous occasions prior to any investments being placed. I encouraged him to consider various growth funds with prime ratings. The favored route in my advise to customers is to start by assessing data on 6000 traditional stocks and bond managers and 2000 managers of alternative investments popularly known as hedge Funds based on my advice, We spun the money around various opportunities and made attractive margins for our first months of operation, the accrued profit and interest stood at this point at over 19.37 million United States Dollars, this margin was not the full potential of the fund but he desired low risk guaranteed returns on investments.

In mid 1997, he asked that the money be liquidated because he needed to make an urgent investment requiring cash payments in Antwerp. He directed that I liquidate the funds and had it deposited with a firm in Spain. I informed him that Deutsche Bank would have to make special arrangements to have this done and in order not to circumvent due process, the bank would have to make a 2.5 % deduction from the funds to cater for banking and statutory charges. He complained about the charges but later came around when I explained to him the complexities of the task he was asking of us, he was more worried about the heavy taxation the European Union might impose and also to avoid dual taxation from European member countries.

Cash movement across borders has become especially strict since the incidents of 9/11. I contacted my affiliate in Spain and had the funds available in mainland Europe. I undertook all the processes and made sure I followed his precise instructions to the letter and had the funds deposited at the Madrid based security consultancy firm, Imperial Asset Management Company. Imperial Asset Management Company is a private firm that accepts deposits from high net worth individuals and blue chip corporations that handle valuable products or undertake transactions that need immediate access to cash. This small and highly private organization is familiar especially to the highly placed and well-connected organizations. In Line with instructions, the money was deposited with Imperial Asset Management Company.

Moser told me he wanted the money there in anticipation of his arrival from Norway later that week. This was the last communication we had, this transpired around 27th September 1997. In June last year, we got a call from Imperial Asset Management Company informing us of the inactivity of that particular portfolio. This was an astounding position as far as I was concerned, given the fact that I was still in the Offshore banking sector I’m the only one other than Tony Dupan who himself is on a year’s leave of absence and is now a visiting lecturer at the London School Of Economics still works for the bank as we both served on the sub-committee on Mr. Moser’s portfolio initially who knew about the deposit at Imperial Asset Management Company, and I could not understand why Moser had not come forward to claim his deposit. We made futile efforts to locate Moser.

I immediately passed the task of locating him to the internal investigations department of Deutsche Bank. Four days later, information started to trickle in, apparently Moser was dead. A person who suited his description was declared dead of a heart attack in Canne, South of France. We were soon enough able to identify the body and cause of death was confirmed. The bank immediately launched an investigation into possible surviving next of kin to alert about the situation and also to come forward to claim his estate. If you are familiar with Offshore banking affairs, those who patronize our services usually prefer anonymity, but also some levels of detachment from conventional processes.

In his bio-data form, he listed no next of kin. In the field of offshore banking, opening an account with us means no one will know of its existence, accounts are rarely held under a name; depositors use numbers and codes to make the accounts anonymous. This bank also gives the choice to depositors of having their mail sent to them or held at the bank itself, ensuring that there are no traces of the account and as I said, rarely do they nominate next of kin. Offshore Banking clients apart from not nominating next of kin also usually in most cases leave wills in our care, in this case; Moser died interstate. In line with our internal processes for account holders who have passed away, we instituted our own investigations in good faith to determine who should have right to claim the estate.

This investigation has for the past months been unfruitful. We have scanned every continent and used our private investigation affiliate companies to get to the root of the problem. It is this investigation that resulted in my being furnished with your details as a possible relative of the deceased. My official capacity dictates that my department supervises the eventual outcome of the investigation. You had unfortunately declared that you are in no way affiliated with this individual. What this means, you being the last batch of names we had considered, is that our dear late fellow died with no known or identifiable family member. This leaves you as the only person with the full picture of what the prevailing situation is in relation to the deposit and the late beneficiary of the deposit.

According to practice, Imperial Asset Management Company will by the end of this year broadcast a request for statements of claim to Deutsche Bank, failing to receive viable claims they will most probably revert the deposit back to Deutsche Bank. This will result in the money entering the Deutsche Bank accounting system and the portfolio will be out of my hands and out of the Offshore banking division. This will not happen if I have my way. What I wish to relate to you will smack of unethical practice but I want you to understand something. It is only an outsider to the banking world who finds the internal politics of the banking world aberrational.

The world of offshore banking especially is fraught with huge rewards for those who occupy certain offices and oversee certain portfolios. You should have begun by now to put together the general direction of what I propose. There is US$ 19,370, 000.00 deposited in Madrid, I have the deposit details and they will release the deposit to no one unless under directives from my office, as far as Deutsche Bank is concerned, the transaction with Moser concluded when the funds were sent to Spain, All outstanding interactions in relation to the file are just routine and due process. Imperial Asset Management Company has no single idea of what’s the history or nature of the deposit.
They are simply awaiting instructions to release the deposit to any party that comes forward as the beneficiary this is the situation. This bank has spent great amounts of money trying to track this manna family; they have investigated for years and have found no family. The investigation had been concluded and closed a while back not until our recent search.

My proposal; you share similar details to the late fellow; I am prepared to place you in a position to instruct Imperial Asset Management Company to release the deposit to you as the closest surviving relation. Upon receipt of the deposit, I am prepared to share the money with you as the beneficiary that is: I will simply nominate you as the next of kin and have them release the deposit to you.

You will get 30% of $19.37 million while I take 70%. I would have gone ahead to ask the funds be released to me, but that would have drawn a straight line to me and my involvement in claiming the deposit. But on the other hand, you with the same name as the original depositor would easily pass as the beneficiary with right to claim. I assure you that I could have the deposit released to you within a few days no later than 10 business days. I will simply inform the bank of the final closing of the file relating to Moser. I will then officially communicate with Imperial Asset Management Company and instruct them to release the deposit to you. With these two things: all is done.
The alternative would be for us to have Imperial Asset Management Company send the funds to another bank with you as account holder. This way there will be no need for you to think of receiving the money from Imperial Asset Management Company.

We can fine-tune this based on our interactions. I am aware of the consequences of this proposal. I ask that if you find no interest in this project that you should reconsider your position. I ask that you do not be too hasty to draw up conclusions as I have put in a lot of effort into this and your role will be only that of a benefactor.

You may not know this but people like myself who have made tidy sums out of comparable situations run the whole Offshore sector and in my profession this is not an uncommon practice as one might think I do not find against good conscience, this may be hard for you to understand, but the dynamics of my industry dictates that I make this move. Such opportunities only come ones way once in a lifetime. We should not let this chance pass us by, for once I find myself in total control of my destiny. I am a family man and this is an opportunity to provide them with new opportunities.

There is a reward for this project and it is a task well worth undertaking. I have evaluated the risks and the risks on your side is barely minimal because hundreds of claims are filed everyday at the claims and deposits departments so it’s not an unusual practice that may raise eye-brows I am the only one who knows of this situation, good fortune has blessed you with a name that has planted you into the center of relevance in my life.

Let’s share the blessing. If you find yourself able to work with me, contact me through this same email account. I do not particularly know you so I would wait on your response to judge your level of transparency and honesty need not you disappear after the money gets into your coffers with a level of understanding between us I will start the initiation of this process towards a conclusion. I do not want you contacting me through my official phone lines nor do I want you contacting me through my official email account, as this transaction will not be done under the clock of my employer.

Contact will be through my personal numbers and also through this email address; same could apply to you if you wish. My official lines are not secure lines as they are periodically monitored to assess our level of customer care in line with our Total Quality Management Policy. A very dear friend of mine and university classmate Mr. Michael Soden of Bank Of Ireland had to quit his job in May when unethical material was found on his office computer during a routine maintenance of his machine and the results of the internal investigation were leaked to the local press seriously denting his career after all the service, good work and sacrifice he had given the industry.

Please observe this instruction religiously. Please, Again, note I am a family man. I have wife and children. I send you this mail not without a measure of doubt as to what the consequences, but I know within me that nothing ventured is nothing gained and that success and riches never come easy or on a platter of gold. This is the one truth I have learnt from my private banking clients.
Do not betray my confidence. If we can be of one accord, we should plan a meeting soon.

I await your response.

Please kindly get to me true my Private contact

+44 702 406 9752

markwhirst@yahoo.dk

Mark.