If Mary Schapiro and the revamped SEC can’t put this one away, there is really no hope for them. Italian authorities recently found a little surprise in the suitcases of two Japanese travelers trying to cross the border into Switzerland- US government bonds with a face value of over $134 billion. The Italian police now want the SEC to opine on whether these two individuals were just overpacking for a holiday in the Alps or up to something a little more illicit.
Among the issues that may befuddle SEC are:
(1) The likelihood the 2 people stopped at the border are legitimately the US’s fourth largest creditor
(2) The denominations listed on the bonds did not exist on the date they were theoretically issued; and
(3) The “Kennedy” classification of the bonds does not appear to exist.
Italian Police Ask SEC to Authenticate Seized U.S. Treasuries [Bloomberg]
Comments (15)
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How did Marc Dreier manage to convince someone he was Japanese?
They are real and the Japanese are going to be pissed when they are either burned as fakes or confiscated. Here come the ninjas, Timmay.
C’mon guys, this one is easy. It was a performance art project.
Nothing to see here….Nothing to see here…..this is just like the Pequot/Mack investigation or that pesky Madoff thingy that everyone keeps droning on about…..
– Mary Shapiro and Chris Cox
Greg, did you come up with those three bullet points? Somehow I found this funny and had to check who wrote it. Your work is really improving (though still arguably inadequate). Keep on working.
ANUS!
Why couldn’t they have gone with something less flashy, like $640mm of corporate bearer bonds?
Wow Gregorio, you are really behind the curve on this story honey. Even my pal Marla is now thinking they are fake and the Bloomberg story mentioning the SEC was some bad translation work.
However, and keep it confidential, I do have some real ones to sell you for a reasonable fee that my dear Bernie is now storing in my safe deposit box in Switzerland.
Here’s the catalog:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7PoRg0CEcw&feature=related&pos=1
Contact me for details. Miss you!
Ruth Madoff
as 3 said they were real. However, those were IMF agents (Impossible Mission Force that is) tasked with retiring the national debt from a self destructing You Tube video. They defaced the bonds to make them look fake and now Timmy can claim them and shred them. Mission Accomplished.
5 – hate to disppoint you but that was bloomberg. greg isn’t quite there yet.
Max Keiser and Stacy have this theory: the North Koreans are well known to “imitate” bonds, and “convince” Japanese nationals to work for them – easy enough to put the two together and get this situation. Though, if they’re forgeries, how were they going to get cashed in Switzerland?
@11
Go to ZH. Don’t collect $200.
Hint: the carriers never intend to cash these things except as means to dupe stupid and greedy seniors. Happens all the time. And it’s a global business.
@12 = NK spy trying to deflect #11′s Jack Ryan-esque counter intell. Commie!
@13
Heavy man, that’s clever recursive thinking. Pass me more Xanax dude. You rule!
(I appreciate your joke.)
@12
See comment #20 from the link below…it only took 4 days for Greg to wait for Bloomberg to confirm and then cut and paste…
http://dealbreaker.com/2009/06/small-texas-firm-picks-off-jpm.php?show=comments#comments