SoberLook - When Traveling to Switzerland, Make Sure to Bring 135 BILLION Dollars Worth of Bonds

Location: Tokyo
Author: Walter Kurtz
Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2009
 


From Earth Times:

"Chiasso, Italy - Italian finance police on Friday reportedly arrested two men crossing into Switzerland carrying what looks to be around 135 billion dollars worth of US government bonds, potentially the biggest smuggling attempt in history. The Guardia di Finanza was not able to confirm if the bonds were genuine."

What's the big deal? Some guys got caught with some bonds.

"The men face potentially very stiff penalties should the securities be found to be genuine, as it is illegal to carry sums over 10,000 euros (around 14,000 dollars) into a non-EU country without declaring it."

Stiff penalties? Earth to Earth Times - is there anyone there? 135 billion dollars worth of US government bonds. A couple of guys (supposedly from Japan)?

This is either a massive hoax, the largest counterfeit operation in the world, or the largest theft/embezzlement ever. If the latter is true, this has to involve hundreds of people in high positions at governments and/or banks. The scandal will dwarf most financial scandals.

This is every conspiracy theory buff's dream. Watch the blogs light up! Stolen TARP money, secret Swiss organizations (see post below), the Freemasons, embezzled online poker money, etc. Some of these theories could actually be possible - like the North Koreans forging treasury certificates in desperation (easier than forging currency). We'll be following this story closely as it develops.

The two guys with some US Treasury certificates

The two guys caught in Italy with some US Treasury certificates, let's put things in perspective:

Here are the foreign holders of US Treasury debt:

 

Media is mum on the recovered treasury bonds

The media is barely covering this story. Must be that the ratings are just not there to discuss two guys carrying some bonds. Who cares. The fact that this could be the biggest international financial scandal in history doesn't seem to interest anyone.

The US Treasury Department declined to comment.

A few prevailing theories are emerging out there:

  1. We believe the most likely scenario is that these are fake certificates. That level of counterfeiting sophistication however must involve a government. Kim Jong Il's government is the most likely candidate. Even if they could sell the fake certificates for a fraction of face value, it will be enough hard currency to keep North Korea eating and building nukes for a while. They are desperate enough to do so and it's more effective than counterfeiting bank notes.
  2. A government is trying to unload treasuries via covert means. Unlikely a major government would have a couple of guys move certificates this way. There are far less risky ways for a government to unload such holdings covertly (transported via a diplomatic pouch exempt from searches for example).
  3. Some organization actually stole these certificates from a government of a large country. This would be a major conspiracy, but this sum can make people in any government become cooperative.
  4. This is simply a hoax.

We have not seen any other credible explanations. Please send us your comments if you think it's something else. No matter which way this turns out, the discovery may have a profound impact on international relations, the dollar, and even interest rates.

Here is the only mass media coverage in the US so far from Fox:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHpL2J-azUo

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