COULD a promise of a quick, cool $15 million tempt any readers of the Margin to send details of their bank accounts to an address in Nigeria? Be warned. The scam has started again.

It goes like this: Jindu Aminu claims to be the director general of the Federal Ministry of Finance in Lagos. In that capacity, the overseas and monitors contracts awarded to foreign firms. But it seems one contract was "overinvoiced" to the tune of $38 million! And it seems the firms, which carried out the contract, have been paid and now Jindu and his pals want to find "a trusted company's account abroad to transfer the money into for our personal use, since Government workers are not allowed to operate foreign accounts".

For facilitating Jindu, he is prepared to pay 30 per cent of the lump sum plus 10 per cent in expenses.

Unfortunately the Nigerian embassy says the letter is not worth the paper its written on. Any right thinking honest person would see through it straight away it says. And it warns that anyone silly enough to send their banking details could find funds flowing out of rather than into their accounts.

Jindu is not the only wannabe benefactor operating out of Nigeria. The Margin was intrigued to receive another, similar letter from the Nigerian Petroleum Corporation this week. It asked for help to get $25 million out of the country, the fruits of inflating three named contracts. Accountant Kennedy Ijeoma is organising this wheeze. Contacted by the Margin, he said there was nothing illegal about it, despite the letter saying it was a very sensitive transaction which must not be made known to any other party than the two of us. It was only at the end of a 20 minute conversation that Kennedy bothered to enquire as to the Margin's name.