[PacificDiver]

If these were in fact genuine treasury bonds I would suspect that this money belongs to a government, possibly the Japanese government, given the size of the seizure. I would also suspect that these two men worked for the Japanese government, or a large Japanese Bank representing the government. Furthermore I would suspect that they were doing this for the Japanese government, which wanted the sale of these bonds to be private. I don't think the Japanese government wants to go on record as selling U.S. bonds because it would depress the U.S. bond market and cause losses in their remaining holdings. I'm sure they wanted these bonds to be quietly sold, over time, without making any waves on the bond market.

[G Larry]

With the Trillions BO is printing who’s gonna notice anyway?

[Ghost of Philip Marlowe]

I read at another site that the Japanese government has been tangentially linked to this.

Watch for this to be THE most under-reported story of the month.

If it is true and if the Japanese government is behind this, they were trying to dump the bonds in a trade for something else (probably at a loss), such as gold or Euros.

Either way, it says that Japan knows that those things are about to become worthless. And I don't mean over the course of a year and with the affects of inflation, but more like something big is about to happen internationally.

[ModelBreaker]

“I would also suspect that these two men worked for the Japanese government, or a large Japanese Bank representing the government.”

Not credible. If a government wanted to smuggle bonds into Switzerland, they would use a diplomatic pouch. Make the swap in-country. Little risk.

These are either forgers or representatives of, well, folks that make their money on or beyond the margins of legality. It could be TARP money that has disappeared. It could be Madoff money. It could be NK printed forgeries (they are big in that business). But it ain’t money legally acquired by a government.

I’m not counting on a long life for either of the couriers.

[thecodont]

If these were in fact genuine treasury bonds I would suspect that this money belongs to a government, possibly the Japanese government, given the size of the seizure. I would also suspect that these two men worked for the Japanese government, or a large Japanese Bank representing the government. Furthermore I would suspect that they were doing this for the Japanese government, which wanted the sale of these bonds to be private. I don't think the Japanese government wants to go on record as selling U.S. bonds because it would depress the U.S. bond market and cause losses in their remaining holdings.

Nothing in the U.S. papers about this, not yet. If the Japanese gov't is behind this, I am very concerned.

[Travis McGee]

Smoke-——fire.

[Cowboy Bob]

...plus ten Kennedy bonds

I'm not surprised that some of the Kennedys had to post bond...but 10! :0)

[Bean Counter]

What the hell...??

This is something straight out of a Pink Panther movie by the sound of it, except that the implications are no comedy. By all means please keep up with this story, and a focused pinglist for this particular subject is certainly indicated...

Please include me....

[Talisker]

What caught the policemen’s attention were the billion dollar securities.

That would do it.

[justa-hairyape]

Possibly related. See video at link.
Peter Schiff Video Blog - Japanese have "unshakable confidence"

[narses]

No - governments use diplomatic bags to smuggle stuff. This is a North Korean counterfeit operation.

[justa-hairyape]

Who could fake these bonds ? The US government knows who the original buyers were. I would assume that anyone making the purchase would ask for verification from the US government.

[SR71A]

This whole thing doesn't pass the smell test. Why would a government take the risk of smuggling $134 billion dollars over a international border, especially the Swiss/Italian border, which is known to have especially tight lookouts set for "capital flight" from Italy to Switzerland? For that matter, why would any halfway savvy individual do it?

If anything, it's a con job designed to upset the Treasury auction procedures.

[Diggity]

Why would they smuggle fake bonds? They could just FedEx them because they could be duplicated if lost.

[Cementjungle]

The main difference though is that 65 years ago the world was involved in a bloody war, which is not the case today.

Obama's fixin' to correct that situation.

[advance_copy]

When I first saw this story, I didn’t pay much attention to it. After reading some of the thread and linked in news articles, I’m starting to think it could be HUGH and SERIES.

[smokingfrog]

G8 Finance Ministers meeting in Italy.

coincidence?

Geitner meeting with Japan/Russia.
http://www.reuters.com/article/usDollarRpt/idUSN1151467420090611

The finance ministers' session will aim to set an agenda for a July 8-10 gathering of political chiefs in Italy, where U.S. President Barack Obama will join other world leaders.

Russia said on Wednesday it would reduce the share of U.S. Treasuries in its reserves and buy bonds issued by the International Monetary Fund.

[Trajan88]

What does a "US Federal Reserve bonds worth US$ 500 million each" look like? Can I fold 3 or 4 up for walking around money?

If so, that would be cool... to think how impressed the ladies would be here in Dallas ;-)

[Kevmo]

This will be easy to cover up. The owner of the $ will just send a few thousand $ to Snopes.com and push out the cover story that this is an urban legend.

[MaxMax]

Knock Knock,
Who's there?
Two Japanese Men Caught at Swiss Border With $134.5 Billion in U.S. Bonds

[truemiester]

THOSE ARE MINE!

I had them in the backseat of 1988 toyota tercel. When I left the ‘Fall and Crawl” tavern, I noticed the back windows smashed out. I did not think anything of it then. When I sobered up, about 20 miles down the road, I though WTF! Where is my Billions of dollars in bonds?!?

(So, do I fill out fo form or somthing to get them back, or what?)