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

Japan Today ^ | Thursday 11th June, 06:18 AM JST | JapanToday

[Xenophon450]

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 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.

[woofie]

Maybe they were only carrying $124 billion in bonds

[redhead]

"Interesting post/thread (scrolling through all). Thanks to all posters."

I agree...Reads like a THRILLER-DILLER! Wow.

[redhead]

"...as always though...the info-warfare technician in me is "sticking out". What if this was supposed to happen? What if it was intended that these two be caught? What's to gain by having $213B in U.S. treasury bearer bonds intercepted? I know that's a backwards way of thinking of it, but it must be asked...even though I certainly can't fathom an answer at this point."

What if this is a sleight of hand trick? While everybody is looking at this bond caper, the current resident and his flying monkeys are pulling something even more heinous in DC? (Adjusting tinfoil beanie rakishly over one eye, after adding propeller and moxie pin...)

[PGalt]

Lotto winners ?

Revisiting thread, I didn't expect to have an LOL!

[PGalt]

Interesting to see Denninger inquiring about this...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2270008/posts

Thanks for posting, Lori.

[Red in Blue PA]

Two Japanese citizens carrying $134 billion worth of U.S. bonds

They make Madoff look like a piker!

(But I'm sure they earned all $134B/s

[silverleaf]

Maybe Japanese with loyalties to North Korea ... or relatives there

Kim Chong does know about Switzerland, that’s where his “little boy” Kim attended school

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

Why not just hire Blackwater or Brinks or some other group to transport it?

Help me out. If they are property of a sovereign nation, what reason would they have to "transport" the bonds anywhere?

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

I think a huge hedge fund manager just Madoff (sp?) with some loot.

Wouldn't the conversion of the fund investments into all paper bonds set off a few sirens at the SEC?

[PapaBear3625]

No individuals could do this. So the only answer is that they are working for the Japanese government or one of the large Japanese banks.

If it was a government, it would have gone in a diplomatic pouch which would have been immune to search. And a large bank would have been able to get the Japanese government to transport them in the pouch.

[hiredhand]

The whole thing is almost too unbelievable as reported. This causes me to look in other areas for a possible desired outcome. In other words, we shouldn't be focusing on the mere fact that somebody was caught with so much money. The amount involved could certainly have afforded the owner a better and more professional transport method. I have to think that as unprofessionally as this whole thing is boiling down, that it was possibly planned this way and that there's an ulterior motive. But as before...what that might be I have no idea. ;-)

[hiredhand]

In that case, lets change the menu from Sam Adams to Saki as well... :-)

[sharkhawk]

Total fakes. See Fed NY website for info. See about halfway down Discovered 1930s Notes and Bonds http://www.newyorkfed.org/banking/frscams.html. The bonds in the picture even look like Sample fraud 5.

[investigateworld]

Which brings me to my thinking: Someone was trying to pull a fast one on the Russian Mob.

[hiredhand]

You think like I’m thinking now. I only HOPE that whoever lost the money is our enemy and hating life because of it.

[hiredhand]

Wow! You have a tinfoil, propeller beanie too?! :-) Honestly, whatever the outcome of this news turns out to be will NOT surprise me....even though the version of the story we get will most likely be utter, absolute B.S.

... which makes me ask... why even leak this to the news to start with?

[hiredhand]

Which brings me to my thinking: Someone was trying to pull a fast one on the Russian Mob.

If this be the case,then that somebody just had their potential lifespans significantly REDUCED.

[redhead]

"... which makes me ask... why even leak this to the news to start with?"

Exactly! 1. Too much money. 2. Bearer bonds??? 3. Hand-carried? 4. Italian customs/police?? 5. European coverage ignored by leftist media in USA. This is either a super prank, a really bad potboiler that accidentally got picked up by the international press, or such deadly information that we, now that we know of it, will all have to be killed. Still shaking my head...

[investigateworld]

Absolutely. What the Russian (and Armenian) mobs lack in sophistication, they make up in pure brutal terror.

Keep us in mind if ya hear anything else about this.

[hiredhand]

Exactly! 1. Too much money. 2. Bearer bonds??? 3. Hand-carried? 4. Italian customs/police?? 5. European coverage ignored by leftist media in USA. This is either a super prank, a really bad potboiler that accidentally got picked up by the international press, or such deadly information that we, now that we know of it, will all have to be killed. Still shaking my head...

It seems even more ludicrous when you put it that way! I doubt we'll ever really know what happened under it all. I'm surprised it was even reported to us at all to be honest.