216 african appropriations
ver y e x pensive. The fi rst pay ment must be made i m med iately. Mea nwh i le,
the fraudsters deliver huge volumes of white notes packed in boxes to the
victim’s house. W hen the dyes arrive, it turns out that the machine does
not work properly with the new dyes and has to be sent to Europe to be
repaired. The victim must now also cover the courier’s travel costs. Even-
tually, the victim receives a message to the effect that a suspicious machine
has been confiscated at the airport and the police are seeking the owners.
The victim is thus forced to acknowledge that his or her investment in
money production has failed.
figure 7.1
Replica of a money-making machine, 2003. Author’s collection.