Update: 2 Japanese Detained In Italy; Concealed $134.5 BILLION Of U.S. Government Bonds In Briefcase

Jun 12, 2009 9 Comments ›› Erik Wong

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ROME — Two Japanese nationals were detained by Italian financial police last week after trying to enter Switzerland with $134 billion worth of undeclared U.S. bonds, mostly Treasury bonds, an Italian daily said Wednesday.

The Japanese consulate general in Milan confirmed that the detention had taken place and said it was trying to confirm with Italian authorities whether the two were indeed More..Japanese nationals and their identities.

According to the report in il Giornale, two unidentified Japanese in their 50s concealed the bonds, including 249 U.S. Treasury bonds each worth $500 million, in a suitcase with a false bottom that was searched by the Italian authorities June 3 when they were in Chiasso, at the border with Switzerland, about 50 kilometers north of Milan. The daily did not say on what charges they have been detained, but the two may have been detained on suspicion of attempting to take a large amount of securities out of Italy without declaring it because the paper said they had not declared the bonds.

Italian authorities have not yet determined whether they are real or fake, but if they are real the attempt to take them into Switzerland would be the largest financial smuggling operation in history; if they are fake, the matter would be even more mind-boggling because the quality of the counterfeit work is such that the fake bonds are undistinguishable from the real ones.

What caught the policemen’s attention were the billion dollar securities. Such a large denomination is not available in regular financial and banking markets. Only states handle such amounts of money.

The question now is who could or would counterfeit or smuggle these non-negotiable bonds.

In order to stop money laundering Italian law sets a ceiling of 10,000 euros 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, for Italy it would be like hitting the jackpot. 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.

As soon as the seizure was made the US Embassy in Rome was informed. Italian and US secret services were called in to assist the Italian financial police.

Some important international financial newspapers had already reported on the existence of ‘funny money’ circulating on parallel, i.e. unofficial, financial markets.

UPDATE ADDED:

Right Scoop

Not a peep yet from U.S. mainstream media, but Italian authorities have detained 2 Japanese nationals who were attempting to cross into Switzerland with $134.5 BILLION in U.S. Government Bonds… hidden in a false-bottomed briefcase. This is HUGE news. PDF of the Italian Government’s news release is here, with more pictures.

The Italian financial authorities haven’t yet determined whether the bonds are real or fake, but if they are genuine, the attempt to take them into Switzerland would be the largest financial smuggling operation in history; if they are fake, the matter would still be astonishing… because the quality of the counterfeit work is so good that the fake bonds are reportedly indistinguishable from real ones.

The bonds include 249 US Federal Reserve bonds worth US$ 500 million each, plus ten Kennedy bonds and other US government securities worth a billion dollars each. Bonds are rarely issued in certificate (paper) form any more…an electronic account entry of the asset is the norm. It’s safer, for one thing. Unless you are trying to launder some money.

For most of their history after World War II, Treasury notes have been issued with denominations never rising above a high of $1 million. Yet, from 1955 to 1969, the Treasury issued Treasury notes with the added denominations of $100 million and $500 million. Some of the seized bonds, especially the Kennedys, may be what are called “bearer bonds” that are “negotiable”, basically like cash. Whomever has possession of a bearer-bond can claim ownership. Widespread fraud and theft dangers caused the securities industry to cease issuing bearer-bonds many years ago.

To use paper bond certificates of any kind would cause scrutiny by a reputable financial institution today, especially if said bonds were bearer-bonds. It’s very likely that real or counterfeit, these bonds were headed for a black-market transaction. So who is trying to rip off, skate off with, or launder $134 Billion Dollars? That’s half of a freaking TARP. Two Japanese men in their 50’s? Only governments would have such a pile.

If the certificates are real, Italy just won the lottery… their money laundering laws inflict a 40% penalty for failure to declare instruments and cash in excess of $10,000 Euros, which means they’d score a windfall of around $40 billion dollars.

Want to get REALLY conspiratorial? On March 30th, the Wall Street Journal said this…notice the number in bold.

Treasury Has $134.5 Billion Left in TARP MARCH 30, 2009

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. The figure means that about 81% of the $700 billion in the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, has been committed. It also means that the Obama administration may not have to go to Congress to request additional funds, at least until well into the year. Many lawmakers who criticized the administration’s bank-rescue efforts have vowed to oppose any requests for more money for …

And interestingly, from Reuters, is this:

“U.S. TIC data show that during the 12 months ending January 2007, Japanese investors bought just $18.2 billion in Treasury coupons, or approximately $1.5 billion a month, a sharp contrast from the 12 months ending January 2005 when Japanese investors purchased $134.5 billion of U.S. government debt, McCarthy noted.”

Something stinks, so keep your eye on this one. The amount involved is MASSIVE, the city where they were seized is a financial gateway to Switzerland, and you’d have to have giant balls to try and fake out the Swiss with counterfeits in this way. Not that you could. Pressure is mounting in Congress for an (unprecedented) audit of the Federal Reserve. Our government obviously knows about this catch by the Italians…but it seems they, and our media, don’t want you to.

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