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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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 Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 6:22 pm Post subject: Italy seizes $135B of US bonds from two Japanese citizens |
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Two Japanese citizens carrying $134 billion worth of U.S. bonds were detained last week by Italy's financial police at Chiasso (40km from Milan) on the border between Italy and Switzerland, an Italian daily said Wednesday.
According to the report, they include 249 U.S. Treasury bonds each worth $500 million, plus 10 Kennedy bonds and other U.S. government securities worth a billion dollar each.
The two unidentified Japanese citizen were searched on June 3 when they were in Chiasso. They were detained on suspicion of attempting to take a large amount of securities out of Italy without declaring it.
The bonds were found hidden in the bottom of the suitcase, in a closed section separated from the part of the bag containing personal items.
Apart from the securities the Japanese men were carrying a considerable sum of original bank documents.
Investigations are underway to establish the identity and the origin of both the bonds and the bank documents that have also been impounded.
In order to stop money laundering Italian law sets a ceiling of �10,000 per person for importing or exporting money without declaring it. The penalty for violating the law is 40 per cent of the money seized.
If the certificates were real, the fine alone would amount to US$ 38 billion, five times the estimated cost of rebuilding quake-devastated Abruzzi region. It would help Italy�s eliminate its public deficit.
If the certificates are fakes the two Japanese nationals could get a very lengthy jail sentence for fraud.
The US Embassy in Rome was informed. |
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20090611/italy-seizes-135b-us-bonds-from-two-japanese-citizens.htm
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/11/741373/-Is-it-all-funny-money
http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/06/about-those-bonds.html
If they are real, wow, what a story. That is unlikely however. If they are fake it is likely the largest counterfeiting attempt ever. |
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bacasper
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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I hate days that start out like that.
So as long as I declare my billion dollar bonds, I'll have no problem taking them out of the country, right? |
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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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| Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 9:37 pm Post subject: |
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| In a suitcase with a false bottom they were trying to hide 249 U.S. Treasury bonds, each worth $500 million, plus 10 Kennedy bonds each worth $1 Billion. |
What's a Kennedy bond? Do they mean a bond from the Kennedy era? |
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Rusty Shackleford
Joined: 08 May 2008
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agoodmouse
Joined: 20 Dec 2007
Location: Anyang
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| Posted: Thu Jun 11, 2009 10:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Woah. |
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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=15505&size=A
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Seizure of US government bonds from two Japanese men in Italy raises questions
Seized US bonds are worth US$ 134.5 billion. The whole affair touches a number of economic and political issues. For some the resignation of Japan�s Interior minister might be related to it.
Milan (AsiaNews) � There have been new developments with regards to the story of US$ 134.5 billion in US government bonds seized by Italy�s financial police at Ponte Chiasso on the Italian-Swiss border, which AsiaNews reported four days ago. News about it initially made it to the front page of many Italian papers, but not of the international press. Since yesterday though, some reports have published by English-language news agencies. And some commentators are starting to link the story to reports in US press dating back to 30 March.
On that date the US Treasury Department announced that it had about US$ 134.5 billion left in its financial-rescue fund, the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), whose purpose is to purchase assets and equity to buttress companies in trouble. The existence of such means that the Obama administration may not have to go to Congress for additional funds, something which is especially important since many lawmakers have vowed to oppose any requests for more money.
At the same time, Japan�s Kyodo news agency has reported that the resignation of Japan�s Interior Minister Kunio Hatoyama might also be related to the Ponte Chiasso affair. Officially the minister quit as a result of a row over who should head the state-owned Japan Post, but some sources have suggested that such a scenario is not very plausible since Mr Hatoyama was Prime Minister Taro Aso�s main ally in his rise to the prime minister�s office, and is especially unconvincing since the ruling coalition government has to face elections in just two weeks time. Indeed there are many reasons to connect the Ponte Chiasso incident to the minister�s resignation.
First of all, the men carrying the bonds had a Japanese passport. Secondly, they were not arrested. Under Italian law anyone in possession of counterfeit cash or bonds worth more than a few tens of thousands of euros must be arrested. By comparison the value of the seized counterfeit bonds is equal to 1 per cent of the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Thirdly, how the seizure took place is worthy of a Monty Python movie�two well-dressed Japanese men carrying a briefcase travelling in a local train usually used by Italian manual labourers who commute to Switzerland for work had as much chance to go unobserved as two European businessmen travelling in the Congo.
For AsiaNews the incident raises several questions. For example, why did Italy�s press, of every stripe, first give the matter great visibility, only to drop it as quickly? Also, if we are to assume that the bonds are real, why were they in Italy on their way to Switzerland? If these were the unused TARP funds why would they be in US Federal Reserve denomination? Would it not have been better to wait to see how they would be used before the bonds were issued? If they are authentic and owned by a foreign state, why were they not transported in a diplomatic bag, which cannot be inspected at customs? And what will the Italian government do insofar as the issue represents an offence under Italian law? Will it impose a fine of 38 billion euros, and run the risk of a row with an ally, or return the money without any penalty to the rightful owner and show the world that Italy is some kind of banana republic, a semi-colonial protectorate that violates its own laws and constitution?
Whatever the case may be, for Italy�s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi it is a heavy burden to bear, given the legal and criminal consequences he might face.
The only people who come out of it well are Italy�s tax cops, reason for them to show off their success on their website. |
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123828522318566241.html
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| WASHINGTON -- The Treasury Department said it has about $134.5 billion left in its financial-rescue fund, giving the Obama administration a cushion as it implements expensive programs aimed at unlocking credit markets and boosting ailing industries. |
Interesting coincidence.
Unused TARP funds?
Nobody I know knows what a Kennedy Bond is. Which suggests a very wide-eyed counterfeiting operation. It isn't everyday that someone try to counterfeit 1% of American GDP and carry it around Italy. |
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Robot_Teacher
Joined: 18 Feb 2009
Location: Robotting Around the World
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| Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 10:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Italy is kinda strange. Their law require you to report to a police station upon arrival in each town and they often just pull you off the street to simply book you in the local station by copying your documents and then let you go. It was confusing my 1st go around and they didn't speak English to explain as it was a small town, but I later learned just what happened. Being that I had heard Italy were instantly making Italian citizens out of foreigners to extort money, I was suspicious they'd arrest me the next time I entered for not paying my taxes and reporting in. Americans out of Vicenza were having some issues 10 years ago with this. You're more likely to get booked and even get trouble in a small town vs. Rome or Venice. If they're suspicious of you, then they'll thoroughly search you and maybe even invent a charge. |
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RJjr
Joined: 17 Aug 2006
Location: Turning on a Lamp
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| Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 1:31 am Post subject: |
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With all of our pressure on North Korea lately, when I read it, I thought the two guys must've been North Korean, since North Korea does so much counterfeiting. Also, they've kidnapped a lot of Japanese people to train North Korean agents to speak and act Japanese.
The dollar amount is just so astronomical. These two Asian men own more US Treasury debt than most countries? http://www.treas.gov/tic/mfh.txt
If it ends up being the TARP fund, that'll be too weird and too funny. 
The scary part is that Japan is one of the few countries that actually does own that much Treasury debt. Maybe they want to be the first one out before the mad scramble. |
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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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| Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 9:43 am Post subject: |
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Italian Police Ask SEC to Authenticate Seized U.S. Treasuries
June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Italy�s financial police said they asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to authenticate U.S. government bonds found in the false bottom of a suitcase carried by two Japanese travelers attempting to cross into Switzerland.
The bonds, with a face value of more than $134 billion, are probably forgeries, Colonel Rodolfo Mecarelli of the Guardia di Finanza in Como, Italy, said today. If the notes are genuine, the pair would be the U.S. government�s fourth-biggest creditor, ahead of the U.K. with $128 billion of U.S. debt and just behind Russia, which is owed $138 billion.
The seized notes include 249 securities with a face value of $500 million each and 10 additional bonds with a value of more than $1 billion, the police force said on its Web site. Such high denominations would not have existed in 1934, the purported issue date of the notes, Mecarelli said. Moreover, the �Kennedy� classification of the bonds doesn�t appear to exist, he said.
The bonds were seized in Chiasso, Italy. Mecarelli said he expects a determination from the SEC �within a few days.� |
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=afJXAA1ahZyo
And this is where the story will die. If they are real or fake the SEC will go public with fake. They have to. |
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RJjr
Joined: 17 Aug 2006
Location: Turning on a Lamp
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| Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 11:43 am Post subject: |
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| mises wrote: |
| And this is where the story will die. If they are real or fake the SEC will go public with fake. They have to. |
Yep. |
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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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bacasper
Joined: 26 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sat Jun 13, 2009 8:02 pm Post subject: |
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| mises wrote: |
| And this is where the story will die. If they are real or fake the SEC will go public with fake. They have to. |
You mean they can say they are real and be on the hook for $134 billion, or fake and get off scot-free? |
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Kikomom
Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Location: them thar hills--Penna, USA--Zippy is my kid, the teacher in ROK. You can call me Kiko
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| Posted: Sun Jun 14, 2009 2:55 am Post subject: |
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Fake as in Nigerian yellow cake? Seems to me there were some forged documents involved in that scheme, with Italians mixed up in it too.
The business in Singapore is an interesting connection, but can anyone actually verify that?
Dead Cats Bouncing is a pay-for site without sources CITED to the claim that Bernanke authenticated the $1bn bonds presented in Singapore.
| Quote: |
| In 2008, two bearer bonds to the value of $1bn were presented in Singapore, and upon authentification the receipt from the Federal Reserve was signed by Ben Bernanke himself. |
Dubious.
I'd like to see some verification on these claims of counterfeiting by Iran and the North Koreans while we're at it. Does the Treasury Dept. want to cough those up before Faux News gets ahold of it all? Or is this the kind of hysteria they like to let build pushing KJI to flip his lid?
In the end it all smells like the biggest Nigerian scam yet.
http://zerohedge.blogspot.com/2009/06/guardia-di-finanza-to-bloombergdie-welt.html
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Greetings from Milan,
This letter must come to you as a big surprise, but I believe it is only a day that people meet and become great friends and business partners. I am Mr. Shoichi Nakagawa, former Finance Minister for a Group of 7 country. I write you this proposal in good faith, believing that I can trust you with the information I am about to reveal to you.
I have an urgent and very confidential business proposition for you. In February of this year an agent of a foreign power spiked my cold medicine with opiates causing me to nod off during an important press conference. I was subsequently forced to resign in disgrace.
As my termination loomed I took the chance to retain US DOLLARS 134 BILLION in negotiable bearer bonds I found forgotten in the dusty bottom drawer of the prime minister's desk. I have since, by the grace of God, deposited these documents with trusted associates in Italy.
As I am under constant surveillance I cannot directly deposit these bonds without the help of a foreigner and that is why I am contacting you for an assistance. My associates will travel to Switzerland by train to deliver the documents to the Swiss banking organization of your choice.
If you accept to work with me, I want you to state how you wish us to share the funds in percentage, so that both parties will be satisfied. If you are interested, contact me as soon as you receive this message so we can go over the details. Thanking you in advance and may God bless you. Please, treat with utmost confidentiality.
I wait your urgent response.
Regards,
Mr. Shoichi Nakagawa |
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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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| Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 8:22 am Post subject: |
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Bloomberg attempts to keep the story alive:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a62_boqkurbI
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Suitcase With $134 Billion Puts Dollar on Edge: William Pesek
Two Japanese men are detained in Italy after allegedly attempting to take $134 billion worth of U.S. bonds over the border into Switzerland. Details are maddeningly sketchy, so naturally the global rumor mill is kicking into high gear.
Are these would-be smugglers agents of Kim Jong Il stashing North Korea�s cash in a Swiss vault? Bagmen for Nigerian Internet scammers? Was the money meant for terrorists looking to buy nuclear warheads? Is Japan dumping its dollars secretly? Are the bonds real or counterfeit?
The implications of the securities being legitimate would be bigger than investors may realize. At a minimum, it would suggest that the U.S. risks losing control over its monetary supply on a massive scale.
The trillions of dollars of debt the U.S. will issue in the next couple of years needs buyers. Attracting them will require making sure that existing ones aren�t losing faith in the U.S.�s ability to control the dollar.
The dollar is, for better or worse, the core of our world economy and it�s best to keep it stable. News that�s more fitting for international spy novels than the financial pages won�t help that effort. It is incumbent upon the U.S. Treasury to get to the bottom of this tale and keep markets informed.
GDP Carriers
Think about it: These two guys were carrying the gross domestic product of New Zealand or enough for three Beijing Olympics. If economies were for sale, the men could buy Slovakia and Croatia and have plenty left over for Mongolia or Cambodia. Yes, they could have built vacation homes amidst Genghis Khan�s Gobi Desert or the famed Temples of Angkor. Bernard Madoff who?
These men carrying bonds concealed in the bottom of their luggage also would be the fourth-largest U.S. creditors. It makes you wonder if some of the time Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner spends keeping the Chinese and Japanese invested in dollars should be devoted to well-financed men crossing the Italian-Swiss border.
This tale has gotten little attention in markets, perhaps because of the absurdity of our times. The last year has been a decidedly disorienting one for capitalists who once knew up from down, red from black and risk from reward. It almost fits with the surreal nature of today that a couple of travelers have more U.S. debt than Brazil in a suitcase and, well, that�s life.
Clancy Bestseller
You can almost picture Tom Clancy sitting in his study thinking: �Damn! Why didn�t I think of this yarn and novelize it years ago?� He could have sprinkled in a Chinese angle, a pinch of Russian intrigue, a dose of Pyongyang and a bit of Taiwan-Strait tension into the mix. Presto, a sure bestseller.
Daniel Craig may be thinking this is a great story on which to base the next James Bond flick. Perhaps Don Johnson could buy the rights to this tale. In 2002, the �Miami Vice� star was stopped by German customs officers as he was traveling in a car carrying credit notes and other securities worth as much as $8 billion. Now he could claim it was all, uh, research.
When I first heard of the $134 billion story, I was tempted to glance at my calendar to make sure it didn�t read April 1.
Let�s assume for a moment that these U.S. bonds are real. That would make a mockery of Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano�s �absolutely unshakable� confidence in the credibility of the U.S. dollar. Yosano would have some explaining to do about Japan�s $686 billion of U.S. debt if more of these suitcase capers come to light.
�Kennedy Bonds�
Counterfeit $100 bills are one thing; two guys with undeclared bonds including 249 certificates worth $500 million and 10 �Kennedy bonds� of $1 billion each is quite another.
The bust could be a boon for Italy. If the securities are found to be genuine, the smugglers could be fined 40 percent of the total value for attempting to take them out of the country. Not a bad payday for a government grappling with a widening budget deficit and rebuilding the town of L�Aquila, which was destroyed by an earthquake in April.
It would be terrible news for the White House. Other than the U.S., China or Japan, no other nation could theoretically move those amounts. In the absence of clear explanations coming from the Treasury, conspiracy theories are filling the void.
On his blog, the Market Ticker, Karl Denninger wonders if the Treasury �has been surreptitiously issuing bonds to, say, Japan, as a means of financing deficits that someone didn�t want reported over the last, oh, say 10 or 20 years.� Adds Denninger: �Let�s hope we get those answers, and this isn�t one of those �funny things� that just disappears into the night.�
This is still a story with far more questions than answers. It�s odd, though, that it�s not garnering more media attention. Interest is likely to grow. The last thing Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke need right now is tens of billions more of U.S. bonds -- or even high-quality fake ones -- suddenly popping up around the globe. |
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Rusty Shackleford
Joined: 08 May 2008
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| Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2009 4:46 pm Post subject: |
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| It's a travesty that this is going unreported. The sooner the mainstream media goes out of business, the better. |
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