Sunday, June 14, 2009

The mystery bonds: Enter the cult! (Now it gets ULTRA strange...)

(Update: My articles have been vindicated. After you read the piece below, check out the sixth update to this Cryptogon article on the mystery bonds. The main Cryptogon article was written before my work but the update -- which gloms onto the Filipino connection -- was written afterward, independently. The giveaway was the "1934" date on the bonds. Apparently, when someone tried to pull this trick back in 2005, the bonds amounted to $3 trillion. Those guys on the Italian-Swiss border were pikers. For lots more info (included a damning photo), see my updated post, "Vindication.")

Our previous story on "The Italian job" has gotten stranger.

Before we get to the new stuff, we must recap: Two "Japanese nationals" (who may not actually come from Japan) were caught in Italy just as they were about to take $134.5 billion dollars in bonds into Switzerland. Most of these bonds, we are told, were of such a ridiculously high denomination ($500 million each) as to make them non-negotiable by normal humans. Only states could hope to use such things.

Mystery number 1: What did the "Japanese nationals" hope to do with these instruments?

Mystery number 2: Are the bonds counterfeit or real? If real, Italy stood to gain a windfall -- Italian law allows the government of that country to take 40 percent of the booty.

Mystery number 3: Why has the American press kept mum about a possible swindle that dwarfs the Madoff affair? The Europeans and the Asians are all over it.

Now that we are caught up, here's the latest: This site by Karl Denninger quotes a translated German news article which indicates that the bonds are probably real, or so sayeth the Italians. That clear up Mystery number 2.

Or does it? Recall that the Italians, who are conducting the investigation, have a strong financial stake in the outcome. Below, we will examine good evidence that the bonds are actually outrageous fakes.

Real or fake, just how did the two "Japanese" hope to cash such bonds? Who are these guys? Why are their names being kept out of all news accounts?

One news story -- immediately taken offline -- identified one of the "Japanese" as a notorious con man from the Philippines named Yohannes Riyadi, a.k.a. Wilfredo Saurin, whose associates in international crime are fairly well-known. The other guy may have been his comrade Joseph Daraman. These two men are the right ages, and they both could pass for Japanese. They've been trading in fake documents from the Federal Reserve for years.

A more basic question: Just what ARE these bonds?

Karl Denninger
seems to think that we are dealing with bearer bonds. Such bonds are like the bills in your wallet (only lots more compact) -- they bear no record of the transaction. If you possess them, the money's yours. That is, if you can figure out how to cash a $500 million bond, which you probably couldn't.

But are they bearer bonds? The original Italian story referred to the bonds as mostly "Federal Reserve Bonds" plus "Kennedy Bonds." BabelFish it:
Duecentoquarantanove bond della Federal Reserve statunitense per un valore nominale di 500 milioni di dollari ciascuno, piĆ¹ 10 bond Kennedy da 1 miliardo di dollari ciascuno
And now I'm trying to figure out just what these words mean.

Maybe you'll have better luck than I did, but when I looked up the phrase "Kennedy bonds," I encountered no previous usage of that term. The classification almost certainly does not exist.

"Federal Reserve Bond" is a more difficult term. This site offers a discussion of the Italian mystery which includes an eye-opening comment by one sjfan:
I used to trade treasury bonds and cash for several institutions... there's no such thing as "Federal Reserve Bond". It doesn't exist. The fed do not issue their own debt instrument.
Is that claim true? The improper subject-verb agreement does not necessarily mean that we should dismiss what sjfan has to say. I've been researching the term "Federal Reserve Bond" and have found no hard evidence that such an animal has ever stomped the earth. Yes, there are Federal Reserve Notes, which we all know about. But the bonds shown in the photograph are not those.

So what are they? Here's where we enter the land of high strangeness.

I found a surprisingly relevant YouTube video produced by a group of Asian religious fanatics. This video allegedly displays old Federal Reserve Bonds, dug up from an underground stash. You really must watch this video, because it has a direct impact on our tale. Sorry about the annoying music, but at least the Beethoven is nice:



At about the 1:26 mark, you'll see a rather soiled financial instrument that looks an awful lot like the ones pictured in the photo taken of the Italian job. There must be a connection.

So where did these bonds come from? This cache is attributed to "Queen Salvacion A. Legaspi," who, near as I can tell, heads up a cult in the Philippines. As you will recall, we have tentatively identified the two "Japanese" nationals as a pair of notorious high-level Filipino grifters.

And where did the Queen supposedly find all this stuff? I'm dying to hear her tale of treasure and adventure, which I'm sure will be very entertaining.

In a 2007 press release preserved here (but currently missing from her web site), she announced that she was keeping the bonds in a secret location but was willing to give them to President Bush because they were originally issued by the United States, long, long ago. Alas, the press release does not explain how she "found" them. The Queen also says that there are enough $500 million bonds to fill up an airplane.

One comment on the YouTube page refers to these Federal Reserve Bonds as
"...fakes. Not forgeries. Just plain fakes. You can find a lot of those things in the Philippines. From Yamashita's treasure maps to these so-called war bonds."
Side note: Over the past few decades, there have indeed been many maps floating around, allegedly identifying the location of Yamishita's gold, the legendary horde best described by someone doing an expert imitation of Sidney Greenstreet. Think of it! All the gold looted in Asia during World War II! So much gold that acknowledging it would force authorities to double their estimates of how much gold has existed in all of history! And not just gold but silver and jewels and other valuables!

Author Sterling Seagrave, whom I respect, says that the stolen war loot is or was real. Perhaps -- but that does not mean that the maps are real. Many a wild goose has been stalked.

End side note; back to our story. My internet research has uncovered a few references to "Federal Reserve Bonds" of 1934 vintage being stashed in the Philippines. As far as I can tell, these yarns are pure legend. If you know differently, feel free to educate us all.

(Recall that the queen says that she has enough of these $500 million bonds from 1934 to fill up an airplane. Hm. So what was the U.S. gross national product back in 1934...?)

One thing's for sure: Those Filipinos do love their buried treasure stories.

Are you curious to learn more about Queen Legaspi, possessor (printer?) of the bonds? Looks like she's latest incarnation of JC. (He keeps coming back...and back...) If you want to see her in action, she has a couple of silent videos up, here and here. Lo, it is written:
On this anointment as God's Chosen as Manifested on her saga, these collective of events are being put together as a proof of her events as the Anointed Spirit of God, and The Chosen One. In any of all the places she goes, wherever she was, the Tribal Leaders/ Lumads, Religious Organization Leaders, Islamic or Muslim group, had blessed her and appoint her to be their Queen. This all happened unknowingly what is to come in the future.
Translation: She's a toon. But she's a toon with money and political ambition, or so it would appear. A toon like Moon.

Except for this one video, which was produced by a bizarre Asian religious sect, I have seen no visual evidence that Federal Reserve Bonds exist.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in a 2005 announcement, says that
The Federal Reserve is aware of several scams involving high denomination Federal Reserve notes and bonds, often in denominations of 100 million or 500 million dollars, dating back to the 1930s, usually 1934. In each of these schemes, fraudulent instruments are claimed to be part of a long-lost supply of recently discovered Federal Reserve notes or bonds.
The Federal Reserve has never issued any bonds or notes with coupons attached. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is not aware of any currency or debt stockpile of large denomination Federal Reserve notes from the 1930s and warns that any institution that pays out on such a claim does so at its own risk.

It should also be noted that the largest denomination of currency ever printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was the $100,000 Series 1934 Gold Certificate featuring the portrait of President Wilson.
Okay, now we're getting somewhere!

The same page offers a warning about Riyadi (a.k.a Saurin), the likely culprit. And this Bloomberg story mentions that the bonds in the Italian cache supposedly date from 1934. (They sure look new in the photo! The ones in the video look aged. That sort of thing can be faked, of course.)

So not only are the bonds captured in Italy a probable hoax, the entire concept of a "Federal Reserve Bond" seems to be a myth. Nevertheless, such bonds did become a topic of discussion recently, within a section of the blogosphere not normally traversed by Cannonfire readers. On Lew Rockwell's site, one Michael Rozeff claims that
Rumor has it that the Federal Reserve is considering selling bonds. The legality is in question. Leaving that aside, why would the Fed do such a thing? If it did, how would such a thing work? What would be its effects?
Rozeff goes on from there, and it's all pretty interesting. But he speaks of the Federal Reserve Bond as a theoretical construct. Such things do not yet exist -- and may never exist, since they are probably not allowed by the law which created the Federal Reserve.

So: What are our options? Can we cobble together a revised theory of the Italian mystery, based on all of this additional information?

1. The Italian news story got it wrong. They used the term "Federal Reserve Bond" incorrectly; the financial instruments are actually bearer bonds.

This theory has one big problem: That damned video! The bonds captured by the Italians look exactly like the bonds pictured in the video, and they are clearly marked "Federal Reserve Bonds." The bonds in the video -- which has a terribly unpersuasive provenance -- are probably fake.

Yet the Italian authorities (according to the German article) lean toward the theory that these bonds are not counterfeit. Not only that: In their first press release, the Italians said that the bonds were virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. How could they make such a claim if Federal Reserve Bonds do not even exist?

2. The bonds are real.
Maybe there is such a creature as a Federal Reserve Bond. It's not just a theoretical possibility; they've been around for decades. But they are traded on a very august level, far from the sight of we ordinary mortals. Thus, there is no mention of this type of bond in Wikipedia or on any other "respectable" web site. The Federal Reserve of New York is lying when it claims that such bonds do not exist.

Is that theory possible? If you say "Yes," then perhaps you also think that space lasers destroyed the twin towers.

3. "We got a great big con-job; ain't it a beautiful sight?" Our pals Wilfredo and Joseph decided to put together their own cache of fake financial instruments, probably using the same printing press which "Queen Salvacion A. Legaspi" used. Why? Perhaps their intent was not to negotiate the bonds but to use them to fleece the gullible. There are lots of ways a con artist can cause mischief if he can convince a dupe that he (the conster) has a lot of money.

So why did the Italians say that the bonds are indistinguishable from real?

As noted earlier, under Italian law, the government gets-a to keep-a 40 percent-a da money -- if the bonds are genuine financial instruments.

Maybe Berlusconi somehow got wind of what Wilfredo and Joe-Joe were up to -- hey, SISMI is not entirely useless -- and decided to turn the situation to his advantage. Maybe he decided to put the bonds in a bank and simply credit the money to a government account. (Berlusconi to bank officer: "These bonds are real. You want proof? My pal Vito the leg-breaker will give you proof.") Like magic, fake money becomes genuine coin.

But is such a thing possible? Could Silvio Berlusconi falsely label fake bonds real, stash them in a government bank account, and then start singing the Italian version of "We're in the money"?

Again, it all seems highly unlikely. Of course, Silvio's whole life has been one massive experiment in unlikelihood.

By the way:
Our Randroid "friend" Pam Geller feels certain that she knows who the real culprits are: The Norks! (That is, the North Koreans.) She has, of course, zero evidence for this assertion. So far, the evidence tends to point to the Filipino underworld. But if you enjoy baseless accusations, it's "Wham, bam, thank you Pam!"

Please do me a favor and spread word about this post. Although the Italian job has engendered a lot of blogosphere speculation, no other site known to me has put together as much of the story as you'll see here. (Things may be different in a few hours, of course.) Incidentally, a Daily Cheeto diary made mention of this story. That post, along with six comments, has now been pulled. Why? You tell me!

43 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Author Sterling Seagrave, whom I respect, says that the stolen war loot is or was real. The maps almost certainly are not." You quite obviously have not read Sterling's work.

Joseph Cannon said...

Yes I have, starting with "The Marcos Dynasty," which is quite good.

What the hell is it with this anonymous cranks and their incessant presumptions?

Boston Boomer said...

I twittered your post. Hope that helps.

Boston Boomer

Bob said...

It should also be noted that the largest denomination of currency ever printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing was the $100,000 Series 1934 Gold Certificate featuring the portrait of President Wilson.

Thats a big enough loophole to shove the Queen Mary through sideways. Why should we assume that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing is the only entity ever used by the feds?

Anonymous said...

Apparently the largest dealer of bearer bonds in the world is Cantor Fitzgerald LP which lost about 600 employees and billions in trade paper when they lost their offices in New York on the 101st-105th floors of One World Trade Center. When a bearer bond is lost or destroyed, the issuer is off the hook for that debt because only the paper itself is evidence of the debt.

Anonymous said...

Bearer bonds are usually issued by states and large corporations, particularly Utility Companies to finance large long term projects. They used to be a favorite way for wealthy people to hand money down a generation without paying inheritance taxes. Because there are no attached coupons, interest is realized in the discount paid for the bonds calculated to the maturity date. Issuers know that a certain number of bearer bonds will never be redeemed because if they are lost or destroyed before the maturity date, they can't be presented for payment. The largest dealer in the world for this form of trade paper is Cantor Fitzgerald LP.

Anonymous said...

They may have been carrying Japanese passports, but it is painfully obvious that they are not Japanese. It must be even more obvious to trained customs agents. Perhaps that is what invited closer scrutiny.

Jr Deputy Accountant said...

I think it is not entirely crazy to believe the Italian media got it wrong - few AMERICANS even know that the Fed and Treasury are two separate entities, so perhaps they just fudged that part.

Secondly, IF these are real, it makes these "Japanese nationals" the United States' fourth largest creditor after China, Japan, and Russia! WHAT?!

Chances are they are fake. the U.S. Treasury states that 1% of its marketable securities are "bearer bonds" like these - they are akin to the FRNs in your wallet, have you registered the $100 bills you have? Of course not. So that would make the TRUE debt of the United States Treasury some $13 trillion in outstanding securities, which certainly doesn't jive with their claim of some $5 trillion.

hmmm! just wtf is going on here?

covering it on my site as well so if you care to compare notes, email me :)

Jr

Anonymous said...

Can you give a cite on what website listed, then pulled, the two mule's identities? And where did you get that picture? Thanks!

Joseph Cannon said...

Anon: I link to my earlier post, which in turn gives the link you are looking for.

Anonymous said...

Here is a link with an email address of someone who is willing to sell these 'Federal Reserve Bonds.'

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_you_see_a_500000000_federal_reserve_bond_1934_series

johngalt said...

just found your site, what a load bullshit. How much does cointelpro pay you?

pig said...

wow!
reads like lames bond!
except it is really happening,
or not.. i smell smoke in this theatre,
and i aint high, i will be down the block
when this plot unravels, to avoid getting
trampled in the lobby!
great stuff!!
pig

Anonymous said...

Found this forum and babel fished it. Seems like someone was trying to sell 1934 FED bonds in Germans year???

ttp://forum.agriscape.com/de/0/?read=66676

Anonymous said...

Search this article, may be interesting?

"Dallas woman charged in in Federal Reserve note scam".

It seems to be the same value and year. I also noted that (google) "Treasury Has $134.5 Billion Left in TARP"... the same amount exactly... :-)

admin said...

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Martin Meenagh said...

What a fun, fantastic article--many thanks for the entertainment!

Anonymous said...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320379387873

softlabhennef said...

There is more more more ...

Bonds over Beethoven (in German)
http://worldcontent.twoday.net/stories/5768020/

Anonymous said...

Hey, the men don't look Japanese at all. One of them look South East Asian, the other man look Southern Chinese.
And the passport design isn't Japanese passport.
Here's Japanese passport design.
http://www.aimeijifx.co.jp/form/images/passport.gif

Anonymous said...

Excellent article. It reminds me- I remember reading RECENTLY that the FED was going to (or WANTED to) issue its own bonds. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122888021757894023.html
But I was unaware that they actually HAD. In fact, they recently signalled that they would not ask congress for authority to do this, or maybe they decided that they did not NEED to ask.

Anonymous said...

You must learn the fed speak to understand this.

The Federal Reserve has never issued any bonds or notes with coupons attached. ( how about with them not attached?)

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is not aware of any currency or debt stockpile of large denomination Federal Reserve notes from the 1930s... (so do they not exist or are you just unaware and they may exist?)

and warns that any institution that pays out on such a claim does so at its own risk.( what does this mean exactly? That they may be real or are not? Any one who pays out will be buying worthless counterfeit paper would be a stronger statement. So why not say it plain like that?

It should also be noted that the largest denomination of currency ever printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (did anyone else ever print? It seems like a crazy question but why not be clear and say there were NONE printed other than the $100,000 Series 1934 Gold Certificate?)was the $100,000 Series 1934 Gold Certificate featuring the portrait of President Wilson.

Just saying... read carfule what they do and DO NOT say

Anonymous said...

Just as a fun aside, there is a great FICTION book by Neal Stephenson (if a bit long) "Cryptonomicon" that includes the Japanese WWII Gold Cache as a major plot element. Lots of fun stuff about WWII era vs modern crytological practice.

Anonymous said...

lol@ they both could pass for Japanese.
i can't stop laughing. it made my day.

Anonymous said...

on the passport picture, it says "PASAPORTE". THEY ARE NOT JAPANESE PASSPORTS. Even a fake one wouldn't say that. I read on NHK, the japanese news channel that these guys were sponsored by Italian lawyers and got released.
If you know what I mean, ones posted on this blog are NOT real. Where the hell did you get those pictures?

Anonymous said...

Didn't something like this happen with the actor Don Johnson at a European border, but on a smaller scale?

softlabhennef said...

Hans & Sally Legaspi-Kempe in US (Compumedic):
Veromi
CorpSearch NV

But be cool - Wilfredo Saurin in US (TA-Saurin International):
CorpSearch NV
Managing member was W. S S.= Wilfredo Sarabia Saurin, company is active!
Compare with:
thediligizeriiboard
Strange enough???

Anonymous said...

Does anyone have any idea why the MSM is hush on this? The whole ordeal seems very fascinating, and would make a good 60 minutes piece, or an intriguing Frontline episode.

I also agree with Anonymous on "Fed Speak"

[The Fed] warns that any institution that pays out on such a claim does so at its own risk.( what does this mean exactly? That they may be real or are not? Any one who pays out will be buying worthless counterfeit paper would be a stronger statement. So why not say it plain like that?)

Tanya said...

Hmmm, that was interesting. Looks like somethings will always remain mystery.

I myself has been trying to solve the mystery of the legend that forces you to have "earn it before

having it", for a wile now. Could not understand much though.

Let me know in case you get to understand the mystery of the Old Hound and the Legend

By the way, good writing style. I'd love to read more on similar topics

KNIGHT ARCANE said...

maybe you can visit my blogspot pertaining to joseph ES daraman Jr. yo can verifiy his fishy scamming activites worldwide

http://staromana.blogspot.com/2008/02/joseph-es-daraman-master-of-deceit.html

http://staromana.blogspot.com/2009/07/josephces-daraman-jr-international-con.html

i can provide documentary evidences to prove that he is a known scam artisit in manila Philippines

Unknown said...

Why is everyone looking for a conspiracy when it's just a pair of Phillipino conmen with a variation of the Nigerian 419 scam. "I've got lots of money. Give me some and you can have lots". Lucky for them there are so many retarded people, many of whom seem to have left comments here. Check out the documentation and passports from one of their previous pathetic attempts.

http://thediligizeriiboard.yuku.com/topic/864?page=2

http://thediligizeriiboard.yuku.com/forum/topicreply/id/864/reply/1744?page=1

Tony Meehan said...

Their is no doubt in my mind that these bonds are real, and form part of the cache that was given to China's Emperor in the 1930's.

Coincidentally they were due to expire on Sep 12, 2001.

The Fed and US Government will of course deny any knowledge of them. If they did they would be owed to China - who again coincidentally are not currently part of their financial system.

Anonymous said...

It's already useless and void, The World Bank Group knows that these bonds were already interlocked into Mother Account entitled to the People of the Philippine Islands entrusted to ASBLP Group of Companies and Bank of ASBLP chaired by HM, King Anthony S. Martin.

Anonymous said...

Saurin and partners are working on a bigger project now to project themself as "LEGITIMATE".
Horrors of horrors, this guy is now running an international airline based in the Philippines as CEO.

Unknown said...

Im am currently in the Philippines and have been for quite a while, reputable and very real in regards to the loot/s of war , maps however are fabrications for most , however again the maps i have seen have already been looted succeessfuly.
I have a genuine fake excuse the term, of the 100,000,000 bond if anyone is seeking a wall ornamnet.
tomwahala @ yah , com

Anonymous said...

I have a genuine fake of the $100,000,000 if anyones interested in a great wall ornament. The loots of philippines are most reputable since finds are still exposed and publicised from time to time, Philippines has laws on such finds so for most parts mums the word when found, previous finds with maps have been successful and published, only then will one observe authenticity, but of course the fakes are always floating around. Philippines does have its legends that also comes with some truths, regards to all, and thank you all for the exiting posts.

Anonymous said...

Unwanted Publicity Intelligence website displays color image document copies of what was actually seized in the Chiasso incident, plus more, at: http://upintelligence.multiply.com

Anonymous said...

Hell i have the same papers about 10 years in my hands
over 120.000.000 usd
contact me over nexevo@t-onlin.de
ciao mikel

Anonymous said...

You have to take my word for it. I am a professional. These FRB 1934 are for REAL. I have seen them. What puzzles me is why were they in the Philippines?

The next question, can people who find them directly deal with the Dept of Defense and or Treasury with a guarantee for physical safety? and ownership?

Anonymous said...

These are nonsense. The same people involved in this were involved in the creation of the United Kingdom of Atlantis, an imaginary lost royal prince (Sheikh Yakub Al-Sheikh Ibrahim) was going to establish his own country in the 90's. They went around to small island nations and offered to wipe out their national debt with these fake bonds. Then, when the UN went to investigate, they found that the island didn't exist, just water in the s pacific. Obviously, that scam fell apart and a few years later the same guy (I'm guessing) resurfaces as Yohannes Riyadi, holder of over a trillion dollars in Fed bonds. I know this because that swollen face asian guy you see a photo of, he was one of the "statesmen" of Atlantis. The fraudulent note I saw was singed by Alan Greenspan and indicated that Yohannes Riyadi had "loaned" the US massive amounts of money during the Kennedy admin and that any day now it would be paid back, he would "manage" this trillion dollars and finally collect. This has been going on for well over a decade, its absolute nonsense. The scam is that they try to get foreign banks to extend them credit based on fraudulent documents. At least, that's what I think the scam is. I'm not sure who this bs works on. That original Sheihk: Sheikh Yakub Al-Sheikh Ibrahim, had ripped off a couple in Switzerland and someone else in TX for several million dollars and was on the run for fraud in several countries. It's the same people, the same bs and the only thing that's really amazing about them is that they are still trying this.

LBF said...

This journal went to great lengths to show that the bonds are fake.

http://www.aegisjournal.com/usa-1934-series-bonds/

Very well researched and documented.

Anonymous said...

Kind of scary how these bonds seem to be magically popping up all over the place...
http://www.aegisjournal.com/usa-1934-series-bonds/

Anonymous said...

Damn. Thank you for sharing this. This "Queen" is still in the Philippines and still is a leader of this cult. They are called Kingdom Filipina Hacienda Sovereign Host Nation. You can click the Facebook page here -- https://www.facebook.com/kingdomfilipinahacienda/?fref=ts.

They've conned so many people. They want to destabilize the Philippine government, claiming that she owns the Philippines. That was really bogus to me and made me think it's total bs. The sad part is many idiots believe her story.

Please do share if you have updates on this.