I'm a little disappointed that so many readers seem to have missed the big find in the previous story about the mystery bonds (a mystery which Drudge has now publicized, although of course he would never link to this site). Let me underline it for you: The bonds were not bearer bonds, as Karl Denninger thinks, and there were not Treasury bonds, as this guy thinks. I found a video which offers a close-up of the same instruments, clearly labeled "Federal Reserve Bonds."
Such bonds do not exist. That is, the Federal Reserve has never issued bonds, and any piece of paper labeled "Federal Reserve Bond" is bogus. The bonds in the video were part of a long-running scam originating in the Philippines. Therefore, the bonds found in Italy were part of the same scam. If the Italians say otherwise, they are lying. In my previous stories, I identified the two "Japanese nationals" as (in all likelihood) a couple of well-known grifters from the Philippines, who have been dealing in these fake instruments for years.
Throughout the blogosphere, you'll find a lot of wild-and-woolly speculation connecting this mystery to world events. All of this speculation presupposes that the bonds are real. And it is all crap. Forgive the self-puffery, but frankly, my site was the first to present the likeliest solution to this mystery. A few others have independently come to the same conclusion -- for example, see here:
The bonds are fakes. Why there were so many found? Because it's an international scam originating in the Philippines. The fake bonds are sold to investors all over the world. It's been going on for years. The carriers were taking them to Switzerland for potential further distribution.Back in 2006, someone tried to sell the same 1934 "Federal Reserve Bonds" in Los Angeles. At the time, everyone quickly understood that the bonds were fake. Oddly, the names of the crooks were kept out of the news. The printing presses in Manila have been in operation for some years now.
A very recent incident was reported in Spain two days before the Italians announced the confiscation of the "Japanese" travelers. Everything found in Spain was determined to be fakes and originated in the Manila. Everything that has been found in the USA, in the same $500 million denominations, were determined to be fakes.
There is something odd going on here. Why do the grifters (almost) always go unidentified in news accounts? And why have so many relevant web articles been pulled? Who started the legend of the 1934 cache in the Philippines? Why didn't the Italians immediately understand that there are no "Federal Reserve Bonds"? How did a religious cult in the Philippines become involved with this scam (as outlined in the post below)?
Added note: While taking a shower, a thought occurred to me: What laws have our two con men broken? They aren't counterfeiters, since "Federal Reserve Bonds" never existed. It's as if you printed a whole bunch of currency from the Republic of Mazumba. Since Mazumba does not exist, what law have you broken?
So they weren't smuggling the notes into Switzerland. One smuggles goods that are illegal. Why go to that country? I think they wanted to deposit the fake bonds into a safety deposit box in a bank in Geneva. Then they would come out of the deal with a piece of paper (maybe photos) showing that they had placed bonds worth billions of dollars in a Swiss bank. Such documentation would have helped them get up to all sorts of future mischief.
5 comments:
You evidently are implying something that you are not saying.
The only thing I get out of this is that the bonds are so realistic they may have been made using a government printing press.
There are probably a number of governments that would cooperate in undermining the worlds trust in US securities.
The only other implication is that they were made in the US. I don't see why this would happen or how.
So why so much attention to this obscure issue? The bonds could be used to get private investors to loan money if they were greedy and stupid enough. I dont see what else is involved.
Snowflake, your comment was incredibly frustrating to read.
I am implying nothing. It's all on the table.
For some reason, you refuse to read what I have written. You are reading some article which you IMAGINE I have written. Get all preconceptions out of your mind and re-read the actual words on the screen.
"The only thing I get out of this is that the bonds are so realistic they may have been made using a government printing press."
Where in the hell did you get this crap? I told you -- in simple language -- that they are not realistic. FEDERAL RESERVE BONDS DO NOT EXIST. Any documents claiming to be Federal Reserve Bonds fakes, OBVIOUS fakes.
"There are probably a number of governments that would cooperate in undermining the worlds trust in US securities."
You did not read my work. Why the hell would you come here if not to read?
So far this has nothing to do with any government. These fake bonds were created by con artists in the Philippines.
"The world's trust in US securities"? What the HELL...? We are not talking about US securities. Federal Reserve Bonds are not US securities. Federal Reserve Bonds are a myth.
Some gang of crooks in the Philippines printed up a whole bunch of paper in order to make the myth seem real. They did so in order to bilk gullible people.
It's as if you were to print up a whole bunch of $100,000 bills. You can print up as many as you like, and it won't affect trust in US securities at all. Why? Because real $100,000 bills do not exist. You've printed the equivalent of Monopoly money. Print as much as you like: Nobody cares. Have fun.
"The only other implication is that they were made in the US."
Who implied this? I sure as hell didn't!
"The bonds could be used to get private investors to loan money if they were greedy and stupid enough. I dont see what else is involved."
Finally, you say something that makes sense. Bingo. You got it.
Our Filipino con men were trying to convince various individuals that they were worth zillions. Why? Well, in the past, they tried to take over a company in Asia which needed investment capital. You can see the potential for other forms of mischief.
Snowflake, I apologize if what I have written here seems harsh. I apologize if what I have written seems insulting to you.
But I am frustrated. I wrote my pieces as simply and directly as possible. I included as much humor as possible. I want them to be read and understood.
It makes me feel like a failure to learn the my readers will do no more than to skim the first couple of paragraphs and then completely misunderstand everything that I am trying to say.
"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?"
I'm basing my comments on assumption that the currency experts in Italy were evidently fooled by the bonds.
Real currency and I assume but actually am not sure of this, real bonds, have a level of detail that is impossible to reproduce without enormously expensive equipment. You can color xerox money but if you look at it under a microscope the xeroxed money lacks detail that is present if it is printed.
Usually only a government has the resources needed to buy the equipment, printing presses, engraving plates, etc necessary to forge money in a way that can fool real currency experts.
From the above quote it seems that the bonds are sufficiently realistic that they fooled the Italian government.
The question that arises is how is this possible if there are no known Federal Reserve Bonds. They were obviously not compared to known examples of the bonds so why did the Italian government feel they were real?
First the fact there are no known examples today does not mean there are none in existence. Look at the denial by the Federal Reserve.
"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."
I think the statement is oddly worded. There is no blanket denial that the bonds exist. Instead there is almost a suggestion that someone in the government other than the Federal reserve could have issued the bonds. They only assert that they did not issue them. If they can not completely deny the existence of the bonds a foreign government could not know for sure they did not exist.
Why then would they assume they were valid? In the first quote they said they were compared to originals and found to be real. Since there are evidently no Federal Reserve Bonds laying about I assume that there are some characteristics on all bonds that are almost impossible to forge and that they are on these bonds-say the seal, watermark whatever-and that was what was compared.
If this is how the Italians confirmed the bonds then my thinking was the equipment used to make the bonds would have had to be on par with the equipment (printing presses, engraving plates factories staff etc) used to make currency-and that can only be done by governments or entities with the resources of governments.
I also assumed you were intelligent enough to understand what I was getting at with drawing you a map with arrows.
Snowflakes being ephemeral I think its time to melt away.
Ciao.
I have an explanation right here: italians are ignorant and naive. I'm italian so I know it. We have jokes about Carabinieri's foolishness, but GdF shouldn't be very different.
Also i came to your same conclusion, using different sources. It's amazing how universal can be the human mind, isn't it?
The US Treasury Notes from date of World War I & II has already vacuumed by the Holy Mother Account entitled to the People of the Philippine Islands represented by ASBLP Group of Companies & Bank of ASBLP chaired by HM, King Anthony Santiago Martin of Hagonoy, Bulacan and restricted to stay within Philippine Islands for security reasons and he will be killed like late Sen. Ninoy Aquino if he forced himself to go outside Philippine Islands. There's numerous fake Anthony S. Martin worldwide but they're also subject for immediate arrest nd imprisonment by the Interpol by virtue of the order of the UN.
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