Bangladeshis caught in London Olympics jobs con

Bangladesh police said Thursday they had launched a manhunt for a suspected fraudster accused of taking thousands of dollars from his countrymen in return for promises of jobs at the 2012 London Olympics.

Jon Chowdhury allegedly tricked a charity based in a southeastern tribal area into believing that he was an international coordinator for the Olympics and was looking for volunteers for the Games.

"He used the London Olympics logo in all the letters he sent to me, saying that only tribal youths will be recruited as volunteers," Shimul Chakma, head of the Welfare Association charity, told AFP.

"We gave him 1.4 million taka (ê17,200) we collected from 15 young men. He told me that he studied in Oxford. His English was perfect. I never wondered if he could be a fraud," he said.

Chakma said the alleged fraudster held a series of meetings with him in the Dhaka office of the Bangladesh Olympic Association (BOA), which organises the country's participation in the sports gala held once every four years.

He promised selected candidates 3,000 pounds (ê4,700) in pay and a six-month British visa.

M. Waliullah, the chief executive officer of BOA, said they were cooperating with the police investigation.

"It looks like he has faked London Olympics documents quite smartly. The tribal people were easily deceived," he said.

Inspector Nasir Uddin of Dhaka police said officers were on the lookout for Chowdhury after the victims and their families staged a protest in the southeastern city of Rangamati.

"We have collected CCTV camera footage from the BOA office and are trying to identify the man," he told AFP.

The London Olympics will be held from July 27 to August 12.