Farin Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 (edited) Italian border guards seize $134 billion in U.S. bonds at Swiss border [smaller]wikinews | visited at 06/12/09, 2:40pm CEST | Link[/smaller] Thursday, June 11, 2009 Italian police of the Guardia di Finanza have seized US$134 billion (€96 billion) of United States bearer bonds at the border with Switzerland at Chiasso. The bonds include 249 Treasury bonds worth $500 million each, and ten $1 billion Kennedy Bonds. Bearer bonds are unregistered bonds that are redeemable by the whoever is in possession. The bonds were being transported by two men claiming Japanese citizenship arriving by train, and were undeclared. They were uncovered by inspectors beneath a false bottom in a suitcase. If genuine, Italian law will permit the government to seize 40% of the value, some $54 billion (€38 billion) for failure to declare these bonds. The Japanese government has said that they are aware of the situation and that they are working with the Italian government to confirm the identity and nationality of the individuals. Joe Weisenthal of The Business Insider speculates that the bonds are indeed forgeries. The United States no longer issues bonds in such high denominations. Further, according to the U.S. Treasury only the nations of China, Japan, and Russia own this much in U.S. debt instruments. Wikinews has been unable to confirm that "Kennedy Bonds" were ever issued. Edited June 12, 2009 by Guest changed title Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steel2Velvet Posted June 12, 2009 Report Share Posted June 12, 2009 Watch them not be able to make bail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now