The Chiasso financial smuggling case began on June 3, 2009, near Chiasso, Switzerland (near the Swiss/Italian border), when Sezione Operativa Territoriale di Chiasso in collaboration with officers of Italian customs/financial military police (Guardia di Finanza) detained two suspects (who appeared to be Japanese nationals in their 50s) [1] who had attempted to enter Switzerland with a suitcase in their possession with a false bottom containing what at first appeared to be U.S. Treasury Bonds worth $134.5 billion. [2] [3] [4] The two possessed 249 U.S. bonds worth $500 million each (among other securities, they also had 10 "Kennedy bonds" denominated at $1 billion each). The large denominations of the securities, along with accompanying bank documentation, was what attracted the Italian police's attention. [2] Large denominations are not available to the general public; only nation-states handle such amounts of money.[ citation needed ]
Assessment as to the authenticity of the bonds began immediately (counterfeiting of these securities was suspected). One source reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission had been requested to verify the authenticity of the bonds. [4]
On June 18, 2009, the Financial Times reported that the Italian police and the U.S. Secret Service had concluded that "the bills and accompanying bank documents were most probably counterfeit, the latest handiwork of the Italian Mafia." [5] Col. Rodolfo Mecarelli, the provincial commander of the financial police in Como, said that the bonds "are made of filigree paper of excellent quality." [1] Mckayla Braden, senior adviser for public affairs at the Bureau of Public Debt at the U.S. Treasury Department also said that this type of counterfeit bond scam "has been going on for years." The Treasury refers to such billion-dollar bonds as "Morganthaus," after the forged and often misspelled signature of Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. that appears on some of them. [6]
The Financial Times also reported that the two suspects "had been released" by Italian authorities. No additional comment or elaboration from the Guardia di Finanza (Italian financial/customs military police) headquarters in Rome was available. As well, Ed Donovan, a spokesman for the United States Secret Service, has said that the “U.S. Secret Service, which polices counterfeiting of U.S. currency, is assisting Italian authorities in tracing the source of the fake bonds." [7]
Nonetheless, Japanese authorities also remained interested in the matter. Takeshi Akamatsu, a press secretary for the Japanese foreign ministry, confirmed that the two suspects were carrying Japanese passports and had been detained and questioned by the Guardia di Finanza, but that Tokyo had not been informed of their names or whereabouts during or after their release. [8]
There has been very little in the way of official statements regarding this case, raising concerns about who made them, [5] dumping of U.S. debt [9] and Italian interests. [10]
Initial reactions to the story contemplated that, if the bonds were genuine, this case would have been the largest single act of smuggling (with respect to financial value) in recorded history. [3] The total value of the counterfeit bonds was estimated at one percent of total U.S. GDP in 2008. [11] The pair would also have been considered the fourth largest creditor to the U.S., ahead of the United Kingdom and just behind Russia. [12] As well, according to Italian law failing to declare currency above 10,000 euros can be punished by fines of 40%.
An earlier billion-dollar bond case was recorded in 2002, when the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, located in Chicago, heard a case from two men who sought $100 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Judge Richard Posner denounced the plaintiffs' claim as "preposterous" and listed reasons to doubt the authenticity of their bonds. However, the question for the court was not authenticity, but whether the plaintiffs had voluntarily withdrawn their claim in time to avoid summary judgment against them. The court decided that they had, and Posner warned them that attempting to bring a similar claim in the future could result in sanctions. [13]
On September 18, 2009, a similar incident was reported [14] by the Italian financial military police Guardia di Finanza, this time involving two Philippines nationals smuggling purported U.S. Treasury bonds valued at approximately $180 billion at Milan Malpensa Airport. Both men were detained. [15]
On January 26, 2011, another similar incident was reported [16] by the Italian military police Carabinieri, this time involving six smuggling U.S. Treasury bonds (valued at approximately €20 billion and said to be counterfeit) at a highway rest stop. The six are under investigation for receiving stolen goods.
On February 17, 2012, it was reported that Italian police had seized $6 trillion in counterfeit U.S. bonds. [17] Eight Italian citizens were arrested for attempting to defraud several Swiss banks using the phony bonds as collateral for loans. They were also accused of counterfeiting bonds, credit card forgery, and loan-sharking in the Italian regions of Lombardy, Piedmont, Lazio and Basilicata. [18]
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)A bearer bond or bearer note is a bond or debt security issued by a government or a business entity such as a corporation. As a bearer instrument, it differs from the more common types of investment securities in that it is unregistered—no records are kept of the owner, or the transactions involving ownership. Whoever physically holds the paper on which the bond is issued is the presumptive owner of the instrument. This is useful for investors who wish to remain anonymous.
The national debt of the United States is the total national debt owed by the federal government of the United States to Treasury security holders. The national debt at any point in time is the face value of the then-outstanding Treasury securities that have been issued by the Treasury and other federal agencies. The terms "national deficit" and "national surplus" usually refer to the federal government budget balance from year to year, not the cumulative amount of debt. In a deficit year the national debt increases as the government needs to borrow funds to finance the deficit, while in a surplus year the debt decreases as more money is received than spent, enabling the government to reduce the debt by buying back some Treasury securities. In general, government debt increases as a result of government spending and decreases from tax or other receipts, both of which fluctuate during the course of a fiscal year. There are two components of gross national debt:
United States Treasury securities, also called Treasuries or Treasurys, are government debt instruments issued by the United States Department of the Treasury to finance government spending, in addition to taxation. Since 2012, the U.S. government debt has been managed by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, succeeding the Bureau of the Public Debt.
Counterfeiting of the currency of the United States is widely attempted. According to the United States Department of Treasury, an estimated $70 million in counterfeit bills are in circulation, or approximately 1 note in counterfeits for every 10,000 in genuine currency, with an upper bound of $200 million counterfeit, or 1 counterfeit per 4,000 genuine notes. However, these numbers are based on annual seizure rates on counterfeiting, and the actual stock of counterfeit money is uncertain because some counterfeit notes successfully circulate for a few transactions.
Law enforcement in Italy is centralized on a national level, carried out by multiple national forces, helped by few limited local agencies. The Italian law enforcement system is considered complex, with multiple police forces and other agencies taking part in different duties. Policing in the Italian system refers to the duties of "full-powered officers" coming from the four national main forces: Polizia di Stato, Carabinieri, Polizia Penitenziaria and Guardia di Finanza. While the duties of these four corps' include investigating and arresting, other local forces carry out limited duties.
The Counter-terrorism Rapid Response, formed in 1983, is a special police unit of Italy's Guardia di Finanza. It is tasked with counter-terrorism operations and the protection of VIPs and places of interest in the country. The ATPI has also participated in operations in Albania, Kosovo, and Hungary.
The foreign exchange reserves of China are the state of foreign exchange reserves held by the People's Republic of China, comprising cash, bank deposits, bonds, and other financial assets denominated in currencies other than China's national currency. As of November 2024, China's foreign exchange reserves totaled US$3.265 trillion, which is the highest foreign exchange reserves of any country.
Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A., also known as CDP S.p.A., is a prominent Italian development bank founded on November 20, 1850, in Turin. Its original duty was to finance public works like roads and waterworks during the reign of Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, King of Sardinia-Piedmont.
The financial position of the United States includes assets of at least $269 trillion and debts of $145.8 trillion to produce a net worth of at least $123.8 trillion. GDP in 2014 Q1 decline was due to foreclosures and increased rates of household saving. There were significant declines in debt to GDP in each sector except the government, which ran large deficits to offset deleveraging or debt reduction in other sectors.
Counterfeit consumer goods are goods illegally made or sold without the brand owner's authorization, often violating trademarks. Counterfeit goods can be found in nearly every industry, from luxury products like designer handbags and watches to everyday goods like electronics and medications. Typically of lower quality, counterfeit goods may pose health and safety risks.
Chiasso railway station is a station owned by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS). It serves the town of Chiasso, in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland, and is also a border station between Switzerland and Italy.
The August 2011 stock markets fall was the sharp drop in stock prices in August 2011 in stock exchanges across the United States, Middle East, Europe and Asia. This was due to fears of contagion of the European sovereign debt crisis to Spain and Italy, as well as concerns over France's current AAA rating, concerns over the slow economic growth of the United States and its credit rating being downgraded. Severe volatility of stock market indexes continued for the rest of the year.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance, also known by the acronym MEF, is a ministry of the Italian government. Its responsibilities include overseeing economic policy, public investments and spending. The Ministry's headquarters are located in Rome's historic Palazzo delle Finanze. The current minister in the Meloni Cabinet is Giancarlo Giorgetti.
The Royal Border Guard was a border protection force of the Royal Albanian Army responsible for protecting Albania's territorial borders from smuggling activities and foreign interference.
The alleged illicit activities of the North Korean state include manufacture and sale of illegal drugs, the manufacture and sale of counterfeit consumer goods, human trafficking, arms trafficking, wildlife trafficking, counterfeiting currency, terrorism, and other areas. It is alleged many of these activities are undertaken at the direction and under the control of the North Korean government and the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, with their proceeds going towards advancing the country's nuclear and conventional arms production, funding the lifestyles of the country's elite, and propping up the North Korean economy.
The Direzione Investigativa Antimafia (DIA), also known as the Anti-Mafia Investigation Division, is an Italian multi-force investigation body under the Department of Public Security of the Ministry of the Interior. Its main task is the fight against the mafia-related organized crime in Italy.
The Guardia di Finanza is an Italian law enforcement agency under the authority of the minister of economy and finance. It is a militarized police force, forming a part of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, not the Ministry of Defence. Guardia di Finanza is essentially responsible for dealing with financial crime and smuggling; it has also evolved into Italy's primary agency for suppressing the illegal drug trade. It maintains over 600 boats and ships and more than 100 aircraft to serve in its mission of patrolling Italy's territorial waters. It also has the role of border police and customs duties at Italian airports.
The foreign exchange reserves of India are holdings of cash, bank deposits, bonds, and other financial assets denominated in currencies other than India's national currency, the Indian rupee. The foreign-exchange reserves are managed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the Indian government, and the main component is foreign currency assets.
Italian Sounding is the marketing phenomenon consisting of words and images, colour combinations, and geographical references for brands that are evocative of Italy to promote and market agri-food products that have nothing to do with Italian cuisine. The phenomenon is described by the Office of the Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) called Directorate General for the Protection of Industrial Property – Italian Patent and Trademark Office (DGTPI-UIBM).