ONE of the aspects of ''prime bank guarantee'' fraud which has so alarmed the International Chamber of Commerce is that it allows fraudsters to extract very large sums from financially aware corporations and individuals.
The report by the Chamber's Commercial Crime Bureau makes it clear that the heart of the fraud is the time-honoured technique of getting people to pay lots of money for a worthless piece of paper.
However, a knowledge of banking terminology and an understanding of the weakest aspects of banking procedures can turn these worthless pieces of paper into apparently gilt-edged securities.
The ICC report, compiled by S Lin Kuo, assistant director of the ICC's crime bureau, pays tribute to the schemes' designers: ''There is confusion and serious doubt among some banking employees as to the existence of these instruments.
''Nonetheless, it is evident to the bureau from worldwide bankers, investors, fund-seekers and, in particular, law enforcement agencies, that these schemes are totally fraudulent,'' he said.
Worldwide victims include the Salvation Army, Britain's largest charity, which announced 12 months ago it had paid more than US$6 million for ''standby letters of credit'' issued by the ''Islamic Pan American Bank'', described by the ICC as ''untraceable''.
Britain's CMI Insurance paid US$20 million to Hanover Bank Limited of Antigua, according to the ICC, to buy ''prime bank instruments'', and has so far been unable to recover the cash, according to the ICC.