The Italian job (Updated)

(Note: The first version of this story left out an important link. Sorry; I have fixed the problem.)

Corrente brought this Asia Times story to our attention -- a story which strongly implies, but never states, that Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi may have attempted one of the more audacious cons in history.

Two (putative) Japanese nationals were caught going from Italy into Switzerland with US bonds worth $134.5 billion. The photo to your left shows the bonds. The question is: Are the bonds real or counterfeit? If fake, then the counterfeiting is of astounding quality.

What caught the policemen’s attention were the billion dollar securities. Such a large denomination is not available in regular financial and banking markets. Only states handle such amounts of money.

The question now is who could or would counterfeit or smuggle these non-negotiable bonds.

It's a strange affair. Sure, all sorts of things are counterfeited these days -- but why would anyone gin up a financial instrument that only a state actor could hope to negotiate?

Here's where it gets very intriguing:

In order to stop money laundering Italian law sets a ceiling of 10,000 euros per person for importing or exporting money without declaring it. The penalty for violating the law is 40 per cent of the money seized.

If the certificates were real, for Italy it would be like hitting the jackpot. The fine alone would amount to US$ 38 billion, five times the estimated cost of rebuilding quake-devastated Abruzzi region. It would help Italy’s eliminate its public deficit.

The unstated implication: The Italian state has the greatest motive -- and the means -- to create such fakes. More than that, the Italians are the ones investigating the crime.

Asia Times closes with these words:

During the Second World War several countries at war printed and put in circulation perfectly counterfeit enemy money. It is also historically established that some central banks, like the Bank of Italy 65 years ago, issued the same securities twice (identical registered number and code). This way they could print more money with legal tender than they officially declared. The main difference though is that 65 years ago the world was involved in a bloody war, which is not the case today.

You'd have to be pretty dense to miss the implications. The historical reference is meant to remind readers that Berlusconi's coalition depends on the National Alliance, the "former" fascist party of Italy.

Could Berlusconi rig the investigation? To answer that question, one need only visit his Wikipedia page, which has grown quite a bit since the last time I looked at it. The entry is exceptionally detailed, almost a small book, and it is filled with juicy stuff. Here's a whiff:

Silvio Berlusconi has never been tried on charges relating to the Mafia, although several Mafia turncoats have stated that Berlusconi had connections with the Sicilian criminal association.

In 1996, a Mafia supergrass, Salvatore Cancemi, declared that Berlusconi and Dell'Utri were in direct contact with Salvatore Riina, head of the Sicilian Mafia in the 1980s and 90s. Cancemi disclosed that Fininvest, through Marcello Dell'Utri and mafioso Vittorio Mangano, had paid Cosa Nostra 200 million lire (100 000 euro) annually. The alleged contacts, according to Cancemi, were to lead to legislation favourable to Cosa Nostra, in particular the harsh 41-bis prison regime. The underlying premise was that Cosa Nostra would support Berlusconi's Forza Italia party in return for political favours. After a two-year investigation, magistrates closed the inquiry without charges. They did not find evidence to corroborate Cancemi’s allegations. Similarly, a two-year investigation, also launched on evidence from Cancemi, into Berlusconi’s alleged association with the Mafia was closed in 1996.

According to yet another mafia turncoat, Antonino Giuffrè – arrested on 16 April 2002 – the Mafia turned to Berlusconi's Forza Italia party to look after the Mafia's interests, after the decline in the early 1990s of the ruling party Christian Democracy, whose leaders in Sicily looked after the Mafia's interests in Rome.

And on and on. Bottom line: It looks like Berlusconi has the muscle to pull off pretty much any job he pleases. That doesn't mean that Silvio arranged this business, of course. But he has the means and motive.

Of interest to me is the fact that the names of the Japanese nationals have been withheld in every story I've seen. In fact, so far we have no confirmation that the two men were in fact Japanaese.

"Seattle Shortbus," a commenter on Cryptogon, has done the best spadework. He dug up an article on the crime that has since been taken offline. That article contained a link to these pdf documents, which include the names of two men: Yohannes Riyadi and Joseph Teo Hui Kiat. Since the original article is now gone, I can't tell how -- or if -- this document relates to the matter at hand.

My first thoughts concerned the names. Are we really supposed to believe that Yohannes Riyadi is a Japanese name? How many Japanese nationals call themselves Joseph?

Whoever this Riyadi guy is, his name has turned up in reported scams before. See here:

The Federal Reserve is aware of a fraudulent scam involving individuals using the names Yohannes Riyadi and/or Wilfredo Saurin, or persons claiming to be representatives of these two men. In a typical version of this scam, Mr. Riyadi and/or his delegates falsely claim that they have on deposit with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York several U.S. Treasury Checks issued to Mr. Riyadi amounting to billions of dollars.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been contacted by several brokers and financial institutions worldwide inquiring about the validity of this fraudulent account documentation, which is being offered as collateral for lines of credit or other types of asset based financing. The fraudulent scheme includes multiple documents which purport to have the signatures of various Federal Reserve officials, including Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The afore-cited pdf displays alleged receipts from the Federal Reseerve Bank bearing the alleged signature of Ben Bernanke. Actually, we have what are supposed to be two signatures. If you use Photoshop to overlay one signature atop the other, you'll see that they are absolutely identical -- which indicates forgery.

This bizarre, amateurish You Tube video discusses Riyadi, who is alleged to be Indonesian. The Riyadi family is one of the most powerful forces in Indonesia. However, the con artist we are seeking may not actually be a member of that family.

As noted above, the Federal Reserve believes that Riyadi may be one and the same as Wilfredo Saurin. This page says that

Wilfredo Saurin is a Filipino, located in Thailand now.

Wilfredo Saurin birthday is 2th Novenmber 1954, Passport No, ZZ153174.

The source for this information? Ya got me! But the page does include a passport photo for Mr. Saurin...

Based on this photo, I can see how this man -- whoever the hell he might be -- might be able to convince the Italian cops that he is Japanese. The age is also a match for the guy caught at the border.

So. What are we left with? As I see it, we have two basic choices...

1. The Asians did it. Counterfeiting of bonds, securities and other high-level instruments is rife in Asia right now. Someone -- or rather, some organization -- in the east has achieved extraordinary skill levels. Mr. Riyadi, who may actually be Mr. Saurin, would appear to be one of the leading players in that game.

But how the hell did he -- presuming that we have pinpointed the right guy, which may not be the case -- hope to negotiate bonds that only states deal with?

Another point. I consider the identical Bernanke signatures indicative of sloppy work. Yet the Italian job centers on bonds which, if counterfeit, are so well-crafted as to be indistinguishable from the genuine article.

2. The Italians did it. If they did, I don't see how anyone could uncover the scheme. After all, the Italians are conducting the investigation.

Perhaps Saurin and/or Riyadi (we still don't know if we are dealing with one man or two) was or were scooped up by the authorities after a previous caper. A deal was struck: "Do this job for us and we will let you go free after it's all over."

I find it strange that almost no-one in the American media has paid any attention to this story. I mean, we are talking about an amount of money that towers over the Madoff affair...

Update: This page includes many items, including a declaration by one Joseph Daraman of the Philippines that he is Saurin. Daraman's passport photo looks nothing like the picture reproduced above. Recall that Riyadi's partner is named Joseph.

The scheme, at least in one case, was pretty simple. Saurin produced lots of documentation to prove that he was worth billions when he tried to take over an Asian company in need of investment capital.

"Sheerluck Holmes," at the end of the page, asks a damned good question:

Have you ever wondered why the USG or any other Fiscal Aut[h]ority has never tried to pick him up????