Internet Fraud Casebook

Chapter 15. Dastardly Design

PRABHAT KUMAR

By the end of his presentation, Alex Gomez had attained the undivided attention of almost everyone present at the Structural Engineers' Seminar (Asia Pacific) for the New Millennium. The topic was "Political Corruption and the Construction Industry in Southeast Asia." Albert Watanabe, head of Southeast Asian operations for Construction Consultants, Ltd., was among the audience members who were impressed by Alex's presentation. Construction Consultants, Ltd. (CCL) was a Hong Kong–based structural engineering consulting firm and was well known throughout Southeast Asia. CCL was founded by Edward Lim, a professional engineer. What started off as a small consultancy quickly expanded and, in a mere six years, Lim established his company as one of the most powerful and respected in Southeast Asia. As a knockout blow to its competitors, CCL acquired Nathan & Associates Structural Engineering, Ltd., the second largest such firm in the area.

More recently, Albert Watanabe's immediate subordinate, Ramesh Pillai, resigned because his wife had insisted on immigrating to Canada, where her parents had retired. This resignation created a vacuum that put incredible pressure and workload on Watanabe. As the regional country manager, he was responsible for the profitability and growth of the Kuala Lumpur office. However, he was also the regional director in charge of offices in Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia; his new workload was causing him too much stress ...