2 Japanese carrying $134 bil worth of U.S. bonds detained in Italy

[Peter Lemkin]

(Turner Radio Network) -- Two Japanese men arrested by Italian Police while trying to smuggle $134 Billion in U.S. Treasury Bonds concealed in suitcases, out of Italy into Switzerland, are employees of the Finance Ministry of Japan.
Turner Radio Network has now confirmed the two men arrested by Italy were trying to secretly dump Bonds that were previously held by the nation of Japan. The men arrested have told Italian police they were ordered to move the Bonds by the government of Japan because the Japanese government has lost faith in the ability of the U.S. government to repay its debts.

So, if this source is correct, the Bank of Japan has been caught in the act of trying to smuggle fake US bonds into Switzerland presumably to divest itself of the US holdings before it all collapses in a few months. And this is not considered newsworthy? This is a huge and major crime. A major bank involved in totally nefarious actions which can only undermine any faith in the banking industry and the corporate criminals are released as if it was a parking infringement? Well, what little faith there is left in it. This should be the leader on every form of media. Until there are jail sentences. Nothing about this is making sense. Banking is a faith based organisation no different to some hillbilly snake handling flim flam man out fit. I'm an atheist.

One correction. If true, Japan Govt. was trying to smuggle and 'dump' real, but secretly issued US Bonds!...[two crimes] the implications of which should/could collapse the world economy to zip....and then there is the 'little' matter of who ratted on the deal....the Vatican seems the best suspect at the moment....and that now it is possible to declare and win a war with finance shenannagins alone! :reddy: It is pretty clear that everyone is loosing faith in the USG's ability to repay on its promised debt and the global economic collapse has ONLY BEGUN....add in this real, but off-the-books factor and only dirt will soon have value. Now I understand why they put 'In God We Trust' on the US currency and Bonds - as no one would have trusted them this far. The trust is gone. When this story filters to the markets and common folk......hang on to your ***. Think about it....these are real but 'denied' issues. How much more cost would there be to issue 1000x 150 odd B or 10,000 x 150 B odd bonds...only the cost of ink and paper......talk about a BIG crime!!!

[Magda Hassan]

One correction. If true, Japan Govt. was trying to smuggle and 'dump' real, but secretly issued US Bonds!...[two crimes] the implications of which should/could collapse the world economy to zip....and then there is the 'little' matter of who ratted on the deal....the Vatican seems the best suspect at the moment....and that now it is possible to declare and win a war with finance shenanigans alone! :reddy:

Oh, absolutely Peter. Any way you look at it it is serious and not being taken seriously by the media nor apparently by the authorities. The Vatican have one of the best intelligence agencies in the world. Wouldn't surprise me in the least especially since it is on their turf.

[Peter Presland]

Thanks for that good summary of all, but the Vatican's possible connections. If he's such a smart cookie, he may soon stop kicking-off his forum those who challenge the official conspiracy version of 9/11 et al.! hakehands:

I don't THINK I've been misunderstood, but just in case, a brief clarifications:

I have followed his blog off and on since inception. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the financial markets universe and a style that commands attention - if a bit irritating at times. He prides himself on being a 'Patriot' (normally, when I hear such professions I run a mile - 'last refuge of scoundrels' and all that - per Dr Johnson of my own home town) and his view of the world is strictly orthodox US-centric capitalist. In other words, the very antithesis of my own view. Nonetheless I try to garner expertise where I find it and it is his very orthodoxy that makes his comments on this affair worthy of note - IMHO anyway.

I agree the 911 comment. It was a slow, somewhat painful process but I have personally become 100% certain that the official 911 narrative is absurd - as is the official narrative of much of US and UK history of the past couple of hundred years or so - but there is simply no point suggesting that to the Karl Denningers of this world. They know better you see. You and I are simply wing-nut, tin-foil-hat-wearing conspiracy theorists, so there's absolutely no need to listen to anything we have to say on anything - QED .

Sad really but that's the way it is.

[Peter Lemkin]

Thanks for that good summary of all, but the Vatican's possible connections. If he's such a smart cookie, he may soon stop kicking-off his forum those who challenge the official conspiracy version of 9/11 et al.! hakehands:

I don't THINK I've been misunderstood, but just in case, a brief clarifications:

I have followed his blog off and on since inception. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the financial markets universe and a style that commands attention - if a bit irritating at times. He prides himself on being a 'Patriot' (normally, when I hear such professions I run a mile - 'last refuge of scoundrels' and all that - per Dr Johnson of my own home town) and his view of the world is strictly orthodox US-centric capitalist. In other words, the very antithesis of my own view. Nonetheless I try to garner expertise where I find it and it is his very orthodoxy that makes his comments on this affair worthy of note - IMHO anyway.

I agree the 911 comment. It was a slow, somewhat painful process but I have personally become 100% certain that the official 911 narrative is absurd - as is the official narrative of much of US and UK history of the past couple of hundred years or so - but there is simply no point suggesting that to the Karl Denningers of this world. They know better you see. You and I are simply wing-nut, tin-foil-hat-wearing conspiracy theorists, so there's absolutely no need to listen to anything we have to say on anything - QED .

Sad really but that's the way it is.

No, I understood perfectly your take and his...and just mused that this 'grassy knoll/ground-zero' incident in his field of view might just change him.....if he is so bright as he seems to be. Perhaps he will just thicken his mental Seigfreid Line. This will awaken some in the financial world and put them in the camp with David and others. However this works out - or even if it disappears, it is a HUGE financial CONSPIRACY! IMO

[David Guyatt]

Pete, re the Vatican. Yes, in my experience they have some of the grubbiest hands of all sovereign nations when it comes to these sorts of financial shenanigans. There are dozens of stories out there where the IOR (or members of the Vatican hierarchy) have been deeply mired in financial criminality. This involves trading in fraudulent US securities back in the 1980’s (ish?), laundering Yugoslavian gold plundered by Ante Pavelic’s Crotatian nazi’s (the Ustache) at the conclusion of WWII, insurance scams and many more scams besides. The Vatican was also very heavily involved in helping their faithful Catholic, Ferdinand Marcos, launder some of the gold he recovered on the Philippines after the war. The list goes on and on, in fact.

So the Vatican news outlet angle is very interesting.

Also, Peter P, the point made in your most interesting post about Meyerhardt’s comments “based on the photographs we’ve seen online” says it all. Of course the Italians would’ve sent the US high quality and high resolution images of the securities for inspection. The fact that Meyerhardt choose to focus his comments only on the online images demonstrates his crafty elusiveness on this matter --- who knows what images he’s seen online? Fake ones the US Treasury posted to a closed website for example so that he could then utter these comments without openly lying?

I am also quite certain that the US has issued sub-rosa securities for specific purposes in the past. I further think that if someone were to undertake extensive research it will be found that the issuance of such securities are perfectly legal, if deeply secret -- and that many sovereign nations of the world are quite aware of these arrangements, and have benefited themselves in the past from such arrangements.

I am even fairly sanguine about there being “Kennedy Bonds” that bear images of the space shuttle of later decades, because I suspect that the term “Kennedy Bonds” refers to an agreement or understanding, and not a specific tranche of bonds per se.

[Jan Klimkowski]

A few thoughts:

i) Turner Radio Network is the mouthpiece of white supremacist Hal Turner. Imo it's a disinformation front, and has previously been discussed here:

http://www.deeppoliticsforum.com/forums/....php?t=911

ii) Karl Denninger is a smart guy. However, I go to his site for interesting insights and viewpoints (from all sides of the spectrum) on economics and financial markets - as many of the posters are either very knowledgable traders or disgruntled, highly placed, insiders. I don't have any interest in the geopolitical viewpoints expressed there. And most Ticker Forumites would regard DPF as, to use their preferred phrase, tinfoil;

iii) David G's perspective is, of course, very well informed. Let's assume for a moment that "these (instruments) are bona fide but secret securities/obligations". Let's also assume that these instruments were "owned" by certain Japanese financial elements - some combination perhaps of Bank of Japan, Japanese govt, and mob.

Why would they have been taking these instruments to Switzerland?

And if the assumption that the intention was to be caught by Italian border guards is correct, what was the purpose of this?

[Peter Lemkin]

Pete, re the Vatican. Yes, in my experience they have some of the grubbiest hands of all sovereign nations when it comes to these sorts of financial shenanigans. There are dozens of stories out there where the IOR (or members of the Vatican hierarchy) have been deeply mired in financial criminality. This involves trading in fraudulent US securities back in the 1980’s (ish?), laundering Yugoslavian gold plundered by Ante Pavelic’s Crotatian nazi’s (the Ustache) at the conclusion of WWII, insurance scams and many more scams besides. The Vatican was also very heavily involved in helping their faithful Catholic, Ferdinand Marcos, launder some of the gold he recovered on the Philippines after the war. The list goes on and on, in fact.

So the Vatican news outlet angle is very interesting.

I guess the CC has a built-in spy apparatus - the confessional :listen:; a world-wide structure, some with vows of silence and allegience to el Papa.

[Peter Lemkin]

A few thoughts:

i) Turner Radio Network is the mouthpiece of white supremacist Hal Turner. Imo it's a disinformation front, and has previously been discussed here:

http://www.deeppoliticsforum.com/forums/....php?t=911

ii) Karl Denninger is a smart guy. However, I go to his site for interesting insights and viewpoints (from all sides of the spectrum) on economics and financial markets - as many of the posters are either very knowledgable traders or disgruntled, highly placed, insiders. I don't have any interest in the geopolitical viewpoints expressed there. And most Ticker Forumites would regard DPF as, to use their preferred phrase, tinfoil;

Agreed.

iii) David G's perspective is, of course, very well informed. Let's assume for a moment that "these (instruments) are bona fide but secret securities/obligations". Let's also assume that these instruments were "owned" by certain Japanese financial elements - some combination perhaps of Bank of Japan, Japanese govt, and mob.

Why would they have been taking these instruments to Switzerland?

And if the assumption that the intention was to be caught by Italian border guards is correct, what was the purpose of this?

I think the intention was to get caught (a), or someone telling the Italians to watch for them, to have them caught (b). They likely had diplomatic immunity and thus vanished - as apparently have the Bonds!!! [they were declared as fake, so don't worry none about that - ha, ha, ha!!!]. The only thing I can think of if (a), is to destroy confidence in all other US Bonds and currency. If (b), someone either wanted the 40% - or some part of it as finder-fee or didn't like their end of the original bargain (or were cut-out of it and had motive (a)).

David is 134.5% correct - the statements made by the Treasury and other such 'officials' you have to imagine them with their hands over their eyes, saying I can assure you they look, and thus are, absolutely phoney. Phooey!!! I think this could well be a Monty Python skit without any editing or additions needed! :driver:

[Jan Klimkowski]

Again, speculatively, if these are genuine, but sub rosa, debt instruments of a sovereign government - eg the United States - and they were presented to a bank in Switzerland and acknowledged as genuine - eg by the US Secret Service and govt - presumably the payment of this debt would have to show up on an official American government balance sheet.

Even with crooked accounting, & allowing for Bush Crime Family & Enron-style smoke & mirrors, $134 billion is a pretty big turd to hide (copyright Ticker Forum). Where would the debit side of such a transaction be likely to be appear?

In reality, it appears these debt instruments - whether genuine or not - will not now be honoured. So, no balance sheet shenanigans have to take place.

[Peter Lemkin]

Again, speculatively, if these are genuine, but sub rosa, debt instruments of a sovereign government - eg the United States - and they were presented to a bank in Switzerland and acknowledged as genuine - eg by the US Secret Service and govt - presumably the payment of this debt would have to show up on an official American government balance sheet.

Even with crooked accounting, & allowing for Bush Crime Family & Enron-style smoke & mirrors, $134 billion is a pretty big turd to hide (copyright Ticker Forum). Where would the debit side of such a transaction be likely to be appear?

In reality, it appears these debt instruments - whether genuine or not - will not now be honoured. So, no balance sheet shenanigans have to take place.

One creative and interesting bit 'o speculation was that this package circulates to banks and treasuries all over the world [for a fee] as they near an audit or need to show more assets suddenly...when the audit is over...it moves on*....So maybe a Swiss bank wanted it. OR - a Swiss bank was to be the place it was traded. There are also free-trade zones within CH [one is AT that border they were caught!!! - but you can do the same in a bank proper] where items of high value can be examined and vetted - and regularly are - without public disclosure about who/what/how much/etc.

But one can think of nearly endless permutations of all kinds....from the Japanese making a clumsy attempt to dump their US debt papers to just about anything. I think the USG will say OBL was behind it.:hmpf:

David, others, did you see the apparently REAL 1 Billion dollar authenticity paper of purchase [5 pages] from the Treasury to some guy in Singapore I posted above?!?!?!

Boy, do I feel poor reading these sums.....even poorer than I am.

* Personal aside shows this concept is not so strange. I met someone doing somthing similar on a very much smaller scale. When I lived in West LA [I confess] one night I went to 'the' place where the glitterati went. I was at the bar and noticed a Rolls drive up [cars stop in front of BIG window, so all can see!] and keys given to parking attendant - this is LA, remember. The man happened to come and stand next to me at the bar and out of boredom I asked him, 'How much does a car like that cost?' He shrugged and said, 'Damned if I know, I rent it by the hour to pick-up women, and boy does it work....LED windows allow privacy in the back seat to make love, as I can't take them back to my cheap Venice place!' Guys on the make in LA do it....big Bad Bankers do it on a larger scale......:five:

It makes the UK Press, finally http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/econo...ollar.html (who opine it could be the death of the $$$)

Come to think of it..I say follow the official spin [and through the MSM] and apply the negative template...

One month [almost] after the fact:
If these documents were counterfeit how come the two Japanese men were released with their forged bonds?
(Colonel Rodolfo Mecarelli of the Como Italian Provincial Finance Police reported that the two were released along with their Bonds.) Italian law requires that if counterfeit the documents are destroyed and the smugglers incarcerated. If they are legit the documents are seized until a fine is paid. How come the US Prosecutors office did not indict and extradite them? How come their identities and even nationalities are in question? About 20 other 'facts' don't match/fit and keep changing - the sure sign of Deep stuff.

And these guys - so far best at prognostication, almost called something like this for this summer... http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-36-is-avai...a3359.html