Allocating Risk and Loss in Mistaken Payments

Extract

Two fraudsters persuaded Dextra Bank to draw a cheque for $US2,999,000 payable to the Bank of Jamaica (“BOJ”). They led Dextra to believe that BOJ wished to borrow the money as a loan. BOJ, however, was a victim of the same fraud and knew nothing of the loan. The fraudsters had caused it to believe that Dextra was selling US currency to it. BOJ’s foreign currency agents received Dextra’s cheque, and forwarded it to BOJ which duly received payment on it. Shortly before the agents received Dextra’s cheque—and the timing was significant—they had drawn Jamaican dollar cheques on BOJ’s behalf, payable to the supposed sellers of the US currency. In this they acted on the fraudsters’ instructions. Most of the payees of the cheques were fictitious, and once the proceeds had been paid into the relevant accounts, the fraudsters appropriated them.