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V15 2012 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 15, Number 8, February 19, 2012, Article 22

FAKE U.S. BONDS SEIZED IN ZURICH

Speaking of counterfeits, Mike Packard forwarded this story, about another cache of fake U.S. bonds being used as part of a scam. Adrián González Salinas also saw this story. -Editor

Fake US Bonds Italian anti-mafia prosecutors said they seized a record $6 trillion of allegedly fake U.S. Treasury bonds, an amount that's almost half of the U.S.'s public debt.

The bonds were found hidden in makeshift compartments of three safety deposit boxes in Zurich, the prosecutors from the southern city of Potenza said in an e-mailed statement. The Italian authorities arrested eight people in connection with the probe, dubbed "Operation Vulcanica," the prosecutors said.

The U.S. embassy in Rome has examined the securities dated 1934, which had a nominal value of $1 billion apiece, they said in the statement. "Thanks to Italian authorities for the seizure of fictitious bonds for $6 trillion," the embassy said in a message on Twitter.

The financial fraud uncovered by the Italian prosecutors in Potenza includes two checks issued through HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) in London for 205,000 pounds ($325,000), checks that weren't backed by available funds, the prosecutors said. As part of the probe, fake bonds for $2 billion were also seized in Rome. The individuals involved were planning to buy plutonium from Nigerian sources, according to phone conversations monitored by the police.

To read the complete article, see: $6T of Fake U.S. Bonds Seized in Mafia Probe (www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-17/italy-police
-seize-6-trillion-of-fake-u-s-treasury-bonds-in-switzerland.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor

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