The Sûreté du Québec announced on Wednesday the arrest of a suspected fraudster, specialist of a scenario called “Black money scam” in which victims are invited to participate in cleaning soiled banknotes, then robbed during the operation.

Cyrille Ngongang, 49, was caught in downtown Montreal on Tuesday afternoon. He appeared in court this morning to be charged with fraud and breach of commitment.

The man is not in his first trouble with the law: he had already been arrested by the SQ on January 19 on charges related to the same scheme, and could resume his freedom under strict conditions pending his trial.

There are several variations of the “Black money” scenario, but all involve a lot of so-called cash that has been stained with a dye or other colorant.

Fraudsters ask their victim to contribute to clean the part affected: it may be money to buy special cleaners or own tickets which are used with a chemical to wash the dirty notes.