The Police have cautioned the business community against a fake bank called ECOWAS International Finance Corporation (EFIC), which claims it has 900 million US dollars from the World Bank to pay foreign contractors.

A police source told the GNA that the EIFC has of late been circulating fax messages that it has received various petitions from foreign contractors complaining about delays in the payment of monies for work done and breach of contract due to corruption in official circles. It is believed that some Nigerians are behind this syndicate. The fax, which is purported to have originated in Intrafish, Holland, said the EIFC's Regional Office is located at the Manet Estates, Tema Community 18 off the Spintex Road. The letters, signed by one Dr. Matthew Jacobs as the Executive Chairman of the EIFC, said based on these petitions, the World Bank promised a debt relief programme for under-developed countries if they settled their long overdue payments for foreign contractors. It said at an Extra-ordinary session of Heads of State of ECOWAS held at its headquarters in Lome, Togo, on July 3, 2000, it was resolved that all foreign contractors should henceforth be paid through the EIFC. The Police said the EIFC, which has targeted certain companies, has already sent them the fax message that they were on the list of first 10 successful companies whose names have been forwarded to it for assistance. It claims the names of the companies were forwarded through the ECOWAS by the Executive Council of the Republic of Nigeria.

The fax said the list comes up with a batch back-up payment of 900 million US dollars for immediate disbursement to these 10 contractors. It, therefore, requested them to submit their addresses, contract code, telephone numbers and their bank details for onward processing on receipt of the fax. The police said all these letters coined in beautiful financial language are false and also suspect that the name Dr. Matthew Jacobs is fake. They, therefore, cautioned the public against doing any business with the EIFC.