2 Japanese carrying $134 bil worth of U.S. bonds detained in Italy

[Mike Oxlong]

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 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...

http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/2-japanese-carrying-134-bil-worth-of-us-bonds-detained-in-italy

Saw this yesterday on another forum, and wondered when we'd see it in the national news here.

[Greji]

http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/2-japanese-carrying-134-bil-worth-of-us-bonds-detained-in-italy

Saw this yesterday on another forum, and wondered when we'd see it in the national news here.

I wonder if they're not confusing the Lira amount with the dollar amount? 134 Billion is some serious dust!

Also, unless it was in some larger denominations, it would be a lot more in volume than what they are picturing. Those do look like Franklin 500 big ones on the top.

However, unless I'm mistaken, 134 bil in 500 clam individual bonds would equal almost 268 million individual bonds! That's nothing short of a group of paper!

[FG Lurker]

Something is wrong with this story... US$134 BILLION? What, did they personally fund the AIG bailout?

[BO-SENSEI]

There's a joke here, I know it. Why did two Japanese men travel with $134 billion worth of undeclared U.S. bonds?

[Midwinter]

There's definitely something else going on here. You need to stop and ask why would someone with all that money, and thusly all that power, allow for the bonds to get caught like that? Money buys a lot of favors. Also, why use the Italian Swiss border when the German Swiss border in theory at least, has lighter security.

[CrankyBastard]

Prob'ly fake bonds from NK.
Wasn't there something similar a while back?

[FG Lurker]

There's definitely something else going on here. You need to stop and ask why would someone with all that money, and thusly all that power, allow for the bonds to get caught like that?

No individual person has US$134 billion. Bill Gates would have roughly $100 billion if he hadn't donated $40 billion or so to his foundation but I don't think anyone else has come even remotely close. Even if Gates did have $100bil I don't think he'd put it all in bonds.

A few nation states (Japan, China, a few others) have more than US$100 billion in US bonds but I doubt they'd be moving them in such a way.

So that leaves three possibilities:

1) Story got the figure waaaaaaay wrong
2) Bonds were counterfeit as CB mentioned
3) Both 1 & 2

I'm guessing it will come out in the news in the next few days.

[amdg]

Puzzling. My best guess is that two guys got conned into buying a shitload of worthless fakes, and then, being the knuckleheads they are, tried to smuggle them through customs.

[Mike Oxlong]

[TFG]

PM Asshole sent them to pay Kim Jong to send back 2 Japanese so the LDP crime syndicate can get re elected.

[hairygateau]

There are lots of things wrong with this story. It's very hard to get US Treasury Bonds in paper form these days. You can't really do anything with them. I don't actually think the major clearing houses (Euroclear, DTC) would accept them from a random individual.

$134bn is a rather lumpy size to just sneak back into the system - it's more that most central banks hold in reserve!.

Finally, no US Treasuries are denominated in $500m blocks. Most UST bonds are small denominations, $1k, $10k, or $100k depending on issue.

[Bucky]

[dimwit]

Prob'ly fake bonds from NK.
Wasn't there something similar a while back?

Just about everything in the story has NK ring about it. Conterfeit bonds. 1980's technology, the doubts whether these guys are actually Japanese.

[pheyton]

More on this story..

"But, hold on, there's a kicker - two kickers, actually. The $134.5 billion was the exact amount remaining in the TARP fund on March 30. Coincidence? And add to this the fact that this story - front-page pedigree be the bonds real or Memorex - has been virtually blacked out by the U.S. mainstream media. A fascinating picture, any which way you slice it. "

http://newsonjapan.com/html/newsdesk/article/74274.php

[Takechanpoo]

I am personally sure this $134.5 billion bonds were stolen and bought from the deposit of Japan Post Bank or Japan Post Insurance, in other words J-nationals' money. Fuckin Jews and AngloSaxons are trying to steal our money to save their almost dead economy. Now damn AngloSaxons are nothing but plunderers.
[SIZE="7"]FUCK YOU[/SIZE]

[Bucky]

reports now say the two guys are filipinos.

[IkemenTommy]

reports now say the two guys are filipinos.

And they couldn't tell at first by looking at them..

[OKLAHOMA]

There's definitely something else going on here. You need to stop and ask why would someone with all that money, and thusly all that power, allow for the bonds to get caught like that? Money buys a lot of favors. Also, why use the Italian Swiss border when the German Swiss border in theory at least, has lighter security.

Maybe using the German-Swiss border is difficult when you're in Italy and trying to get into Switzerland. The "money traffickers" seem to have lost their teleportation abilities, the sods! Some sort of space-time continuum thing.

You shits are still at it.

[Samurai_Jerk]

And they couldn't tell at first by looking at them..

Is there a difference?

[IkemenTommy]

Is there a difference?

According to Takechan, there's a huge difference among China, Korea, and Japan. Remember that.

[Mike Oxlong]

Consulate in Milan confirms 2 men carrying forged U.S. bonds as Japanese

[Catoneinutica]

Consulate in Milan confirms 2 men carrying forged U.S. bonds as Japanese

http://business.theatlantic.com/2009/06/the_worlds_dumbest_financial_criminals_ever.php

[Midwinter]

I've never been sig'd before, w00t! Thanks Mike

[Iraira]

I've never been sig'd before, w00t! Thanks Mike

I got sig'd by someone regarding a comment about the pipe coming out of my toilet. I felt honored, but the person who sig'd me mysteriously vanished soonafter.

[Taro Toporific]

[Greji]

I got sig'd by someone regarding a comment about the pipe coming out of my toilet. I felt honored, but the person who sig'd me mysteriously vanished soonafter.

You flushed?

[Greji]

[color="Red"][SIZE="4"]LIKELY FAKE NEWS REPORT[/SIZE] (No other news outlets are confirming this and this is the not-Ted-but-Hal Turner Radio Network.*)
[/color]
Employees of Japan Finance Ministry arrested in Italy trying to smuggle $134 Billion in U.S. Treasuries in suitcases

As a respectable member of the media, why would they worry about it being true? Thats not a criteria for a great media story......

[Taro Toporific]

[Takechanpoo]

So as I said above( it was dismissed as a bullshit by Ultra, though), these bonds originally were bought by deposits of Japan Post Bank or Japan Post Assurance.
In other words AngloSaxon dudes stole Japanese natonal's money just to save their almost dead economy.
Shameless plunderers.

[DrP]

This reminds me of the DHC scam led by the shithead Akira Sugiyama in 2004. He was able to print fake stocks and offload them to buyers all over Japan via network of nefarious (ygg) brokers [sic]. (http://www.47news.jp/CN/200406/CN2004062301001580.html) So - not surprising the Keystone Forgers are of the similar ilk. And it wouldn't surprise me even more if 'Sir Alex' was involved -- he was released this year from Japanese Penetentiary and had connections throughout central EU (where he also served time as result of Interpol arrest).