Another Smuggler of US Bonds Busted in Italy

[Lethal Lou]

On 18 September two Filipino passengers en route to Switzerland changing planes in Milano/Malpensa airport were arrested for smuggling US Treasury bonds. Face value of the bonds = 130 Bn USD.

http://rassegnastampa.mef.gov.it/mefeconomica/View.aspx?ID=2009091813722922-2

A second article provides more speculation than detail.

http://www.corriere.it/cronache/09_settembre_20/bond_falsi_delfrate_661f9a3e-a5c6-11de-a2a4-00144f02aabc.shtml

The articles do comment on similarity with an earlier case discussed elsewhere on the board. Providing the Wikipedia summary for those not familiar with it as convenience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiasso_financial_smuggling_case

The recent articles point out two observations new to me re the first case. One of the two smugglers released was allegedly Mute Toshiro, former VP of the Japanese Central Bank. Also, there was a third individual picked up and release, a Vietmanese holding a diplomatic passport.

This continues to be one of the most undercovered stories of the year (along with the Arctic Sea escapade). This is either the biggest smuggling or biggest counterfeiting event ever. Who (what group) is behind this. Why such massive amounts of money? Will the US government avow that this bunch of bonds is also counterfeit? Why take counterfeit bonds to a bank where they will undergo rigorous scrutiny. What commodity could you possiblly exchange 130 Bn dollars of bonds for - three or four fully equiped aircraft carriers cost less than that!

And after being caught the first time, "they" tried it again. Has this been done successfully previously - eg not caught? If so - again - why and to what end?

[Evolv5]

Next time they should try using some tin foil. Possibly on their scalps.

[scrybe]

Our current government is completely oblivious to the concept of rapid inflation due to monetary supply. I can't imagine why they would care.

[Mu-Meson]

Asians eh? My money is on North Korea.

[Lethal Lou]

I've scanned the net and found nothing on this in English - has anyone else found something (anything) other than these Italian articles?

[BearInBunnySuit]

U.S. Bonds Recovered in Italy Were Fakes


BUSTO ARSIZIO, Italy -- Billions of dollars of U.S. government bonds seized here by tax police are fakes, officials said.
More than $103 billion of fake U.S. bonds were seized in August at the Malpensa airport, and another $26 billion cache was seized in Genoa recently. When police went to arrest the addressees, two Philippines citizens in Genoa, they found $26 billion in notes along with an airline ticket for one of the individuals to fly to the U.S.
"U.S. authorities told Italian tax-police officers that the bonds are fictitious," said Lt. Col. Emilio Fiora of Italy's Guardia di Finanza, a police force dedicated to investigating financial crimes.
Lt. Col. Fiora said the investigation by tax police is continuing.
The latest seizures came after a similar case in June, when Italian tax police seized $134.5 billion in fake U.S. bonds at Chiasso, a small town on the border with Switzerland. The sums had sparked speculation that foreign governments were trying covertly to dump holdings of U.S. assets.
"The U.S. government bonds are fakes," Francesco Dettori, the chief prosecutor in this town north of Milan, who has been working on the case, said.
Lt. Col. Fiora said prosecutors in Chiasso and Busto Arsizio will cross-check evidence.
Tax police discovered the fraudulent bonds during a routine inspection linked to a nationwide crackdown on tax evasion. They found two FedEx envelopes containing $103 billion in U.S. debt securities. The two individuals are in custody.
By SABRINA COHEN (http://online.wsj.com/search/search_center.html?KEYWORDS=SABRINA+COHEN&ARTICLESEARCHQUERY_PARSER=bylineAND)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125383238988839035.html

Article from ******* http://www.forbes.com/feeds/*******/2009/09/24/2009-09-24T171747Z_01_LO202012_RTRIDST_0_USA-ITALY-COUNTERFEIT.html

From Bloomers
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=axQHQfCUfOcM

So what is the link between Italy and fake bonds?