Obtain unsecured collateral worth US$3 million for a small "leasing' fee. This was the perfect solution for the problems of a Taiwanese seeking to raise funds urgently for his investments. In the end, the adage "if it sounds too good to be true, it most probably is" came true for this Taiwanese victim.
Sometime in March 2004, the victim chanced upon a forum posting by the fraudster Roland Lim Teck Leng, who was offering the "lease" of a standby letter of credit (SBLC) from HSBC Bank London or Commerzbank AG for a period of one year. However it came at a price. There was a leasing fee and an additional issuing fee at a percentage on the face value of the SBLC. As the SBLC could enhance his credit-worthiness for a bank loan, the victim seized the opportunity and contacted Roland Lim for more information.
From discussions through the internet and over the telephone, Roland Lim revealed that he was a director of Hong Kong registered Diagonal Investment Ltd. The victim was impressed with Roland Lim's apparent knowledge of SBLCs. Furthermore, Roland Lim assured him that a Hong Kong law firm would be appointed as the "escrow agent" to hold the issuing fee. When the victim called the law firm on the telephone number provided, they confirmed that Roland had contacted them. With this false sense of security, the victim agreed to "lease" a US$3 million SBLC from Commerzbank AG though Diagonal Investment Ltd at a 13% leasing fee and a 3% issuing fee.
An appointment was scheduled at the Hong Kong law firm to crystallise the agreement in writing and for the victim to pay the issuing fee. Before the meeting could take place, Roland Lim contacted the victim, claiming that there were other interested parties competing for the SBLC. The victim, who was in London at that time, was thus pressured into signing the lease agreement. He was then instructed by Roland Lim to remit the issuing fee of £65,760 to various bank accounts in and outside Singapore on a number of occasions.
Despite fulfilling his obligations, the victim did not receive the SBLC as promised. Instead, Roland Lim claimed that his supplier could only issue the SBLC with a higher face value of US$5 million. At this stage, the victim needed the SBLC urgently. Therefore he had no choice but to continue payments relating to the increased value of the SBLC. Including the earlier sums, the victim paid Roland Lim a total of around US$200,000.
Eventually, when the promised SBLC still remained elusive, the victim decided to visit the Diagonal Investment Ltd office in Hong Kong, only to find out that it was not in operation. Roland Lim had cleverly exploited jurisdictional boundaries technology, the ease of international telecommunications to support his facade of legitimacy. By transacting over several countries, Roland Lim hoped to confuse one as to the rightful jurisdiction and authority to investigate the matter. However, the web of deceit eventually unravelled.
In October 2005, Roland Lim was charged with two counts of cheating under Section 420 of the Penal Code, Chapter 224. He claimed trial to the charges and was convicted on one of the charges. On 16 May 2006, Roland Lim was sentenced to four and a half years' imprisonment. His appeal against the sentence was unsuccessful.