Liberians arrested for fraud
Police in Beijing have arrested five Liberians on charges of fraud.
Xinhua said yesterday that the five men had tricked people into exchanging for money wads of black paper by claiming that the papers were in fact US dollar notes.
The news agency did not say if the five would be expelled or face trial in China.
The five posed as relatives of the Governor of the Liberian National Bank and claimed they were investors interested in the China market and had a large amount of US dollars, Xinhua reported.
They allegedly claimed that due to the unstable situation in Liberia, it would be unsafe to leave the country with cash. It is said they told their victims that for security purposes, they had tainted their 'US dollars' with a 'special potion' which could be washed away with water.
The 'money' was in fact ordinary black paper and the 'special potion' was a solution of Vitamin C.
