Require Your Immediate Assistance

[Jonathan Freeman]

I am Jonathan Freeman,British citizen and Principal assurance manager for 
the HSBC in London. A staff of Yokozona consultancy firm got in touch 
with me regarding the estate of Philip Smith. And an investment placed 
under our banks management 3 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 independent of our investigation and no one is informed of 
this communication. 

I would like to intimate you with certain facts that I believe would be 
of interest to you.  In 1997, the subject matter; Philip Smith came to 
our bank to engage in business discussions with our private banking 
division. He informed us that he had a financial portfolio of 8.35 
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 chief 
operations officer, 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 advice to customers is to start 
by assessing data on 6000 traditional stocks and bond managers and 2000 
managers of alternative investments. Based on my advice, We spun the 
money around various opportunities and made attractive margins within 
few months of operation, the accrued profit and interest stood at this 
point at over 10 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 1998, he asked that the money be liquidated because 
he needed to make an urgent investment requiring cash payments in United 
Kingdom. He directed that I liquidate the funds and had it deposited with 
United Assets Management UK (in their Securities Trading Firm). I 
informed him that HSBC London 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 9.5 % 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. 
I contacted my affiliate in United Kindom and had the funds made available 
to United Assets Management.

We undertook all the processes and made sure I followed his precise 
instructions to the letter and had the funds deposited at United Assets 
Management UK United Kindom. United Assets Management UK is a specialist 
bank 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. In Line with instructions, the money was 
deposited with United Assets Management UK (in their Securities Trading 
Firm). 

Philip Smith told me he wanted the money there as soon as he got into the 
United Kingdom,This was the last communication we had, this transpired 
around 25th February 1999. In Sept last year, we got a call from United 
Assets Management UK informing us about the inactivity of that particular 
portfolio. This was an astounding position as far as I was concerned, 
given the fact that I managed the International private banking sector I 
was the only one who knew about the deposit at United Assets Management UK, 
and I could not understand why Philip Smith had not come forward to claim 
his deposit. I made futile efforts to locate Philip Smith. Four days later, 
information started to trickle in, apparently Philip Smith was dead. A 
person who suited his description was declared dead of AUTO ACCIDENT TRAUMA 
in Birmingham England. 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. In the field of private 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.

Private banking clients apart from not nominating next of kin also usually 
in most cases leave wills in our care, in this case; Philip Smith died 
intestate.  

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 I am 
the only party to supervise the investigation and the only party to receive 
the results of the investigation. You have unfortunately declared, and I know 
that you are in no way affiliated with this individual. What this means, you 
being the last batch of names we have considered is that our dear late fellow 
died with no known or identifiable family member. This leaves me 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, United Assets Management UK will by the end of this 
quarter broadcast a request for statements of claim to HSBC in London, failing 
to receive viable claims they will most probably revert the deposit back to 
HSBC in London. This will result in the money entering the HSBC in London 
accounting system and the portfolio will be out of my hands and out of the 
private banking division. This will not happen if I have my way.  What I wish 
to relate to you will smack off 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 private 
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$ 8,370,000.00 
deposited in United Assets Management UK, I alone have the deposit details 
and they will release the deposit to no one unless I instruct them to do so. 
I alone know of the existence of this deposit for as far as United Assets 
Management UK is concerned, the transaction with Philip Smith concluded when I 
sent the funds to United Assets Management UK, all outstanding interactions in 
relation to the file are just customer services and due process. United Assets 
Management UK has no single idea of the history or nature of the deposit. They 
are simply awaiting instructions to release the deposit to any party that comes 
forward. This is the situation. This bank has spent great amounts of money 
trying to track this man's family; they have investigated for months and have 
found no family. The investigation has come to an end. 

My proposal, I am prepared to place you as the next of kin in a position to 
instruct United Assets Management UK 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 in half. That is: I will simply nominate you as the next of 
kin and have them release the deposit to you. We share the proceeds 50/50. 

I would have gone ahead to ask the funds be released to me, but that would have 
drawn a straight line in my involvement in claiming the deposit. I assure you 
that I could have the deposit released to you within a few days. I will simply 
inform the bank of the final closing of the file relating to Philip Smith I will 
then officially communicate with United Assets Management UK and instruct them to 
release the deposit to you. With these: all is done. I am aware of the 
consequences of this proposal. I ask that if you find no interest in this project 
that you should discard this mail. I ask that you do not be vindictive and 
destructive. If my offer is of no appeal to you, delete this message and forget I 
ever contacted you. Do not destroy my career because you do not approve of my 
proposal. You may not know this but people like myself who have made tidy sums 
out of comparable situations run the whole private banking sector. I am not a 
criminal and what I do, 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 once in a lifetime. I cannot let this chance 
pass me by, for once I find myself in total control of my destiny. These chances 
wont pass me by. I ask that you do not destroy my chance, if you will not work 
with me let me know and let me move on with my life but do not destroy me. 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 only risk I have here is from you refusing to work with 
me and alerting my bank. 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. Lets share the blessing.

If you give me positive signals, I will initiate this process towards a conclusion. 
I wish to inform you that should you contact me via official channels; I will deny 
knowing you and about this project. I repeat, I do not want you contacting me 
through my official phone lines nor do I want you contacting me through my official 
email account. Contact me only through the numbers I will provide you with and also 
through this email address; I do not want any direct link 
between you and me. 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. Please observe this instruction religiously. Please, again, note 
I am a family man, I have a wife and children. I send you this mail not without a 
measure of fear as to what the consequences are, 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 learned 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. 

Respectfully, 

Jonathan Freeman.