Thursday 11th June, 06:18 AM JST

ROME —

Two Japanese nationals were detained by Italian financial police last week after trying to enter Switzerland with $134 billion worth of undeclared U.S. bonds, mostly Treasury bonds, an Italian daily said Wednesday. The Japanese consulate general in Milan confirmed that the detention had taken place and said it was trying to confirm with Italian authorities whether the two were indeed Japanese nationals and their identities.

According to the report in il Giornale, two unidentified Japanese in their 50s concealed the bonds, including 249 U.S. Treasury bonds each worth $500 million, in a suitcase with a false bottom that was searched by the Italian authorities June 3 when they were in Chiasso, at the border with Switzerland, about 50 kilometers north of Milan. The daily did not say on what charges they have been detained, but the two may have been detained on suspicion of attempting to take a large amount of securities out of Italy without declaring it because the paper said they had not declared the bonds.

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Well, considering 2/3 of the Italian economy is off the books, this isn't too surprising. What were the Japanese doing in Italy?

they were in Chiasso, at the border with Switzerland

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Well, considering 2/3 of the Italian economy is off the books, this isn't too surprising. What were the Japanese doing in Italy?

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What were the Japanese doing in Italy?

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Yakuza?

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Roman around.

* MARCH 30, 2009

Treasury Has $134.5 Billion Left in TARP
WASHINGTON –– The Treasury Department said it has about $134.5 billion left in its financial-rescue fund, giving the Obama administration a cushion as it implements expensive programs aimed at unlocking credit markets and boosting ailing industries.
The figure means that about 81% of the $700 billion in the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, has been committed. It also means that the Obama administration may not have to go to Congress to request additional funds, at least until well into the year. Many lawmakers who criticized the administration's bank-rescue efforts have vowed to oppose any requests for more money for the fund.
The Treasury had until now declined to give an up-to-date tally of how much remained in the fund, but some outside estimates had put the figure at about $50 billion. The government has provided few specifics on how it is spending the TARP money since the Obama administration announced a slew of new, multibillion-dollar programs to help stem foreclosures, unlock tight credit markets, revive consumer and business lending, and rescue domestic auto makers.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Sunday that the projection of how much is left in TARP funds represents "a very conservative judgment about how much money is likely to come back from banks that are strong enough not to need this capital now to get through a recession." Several banks in recent weeks have announced plans to pay back the bailout funds they received.
In its estimate, the Treasury projects that it will receive about $25 billion back from banks that have participated in TARP. Factoring in those so-called paybacks, the Treasury estimates that its commitments for rescue programs so far total $565.5 billion.
Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Mr. Geithner said the amount remaining in the fund "gives us –– and this is very important –– substantial resources to move ahead with this broad-based suite of initiatives to help get the financial system back in the business of providing credit."
Some outside analysts described the Treasury estimates as "squishy" and suggested the numbers could be overly optimistic. Virginia-based banking consultant Bert Ely agreed that while the Treasury's $25 billion estimate for repayments is conservative, "the timing of the paybacks is in the air" amid questions over the procedure for repaying funds and any needed approvals. "Maybe eventually they'll have $135 billion, but they don't have it now," he said.
In addition, Mr. Ely said, he expects the Treasury to soon open up TARP funds to credit unions, insurance companies and other financial firms.
Mr. Geithner declined to say whether the administration thinks it would need additional TARP money from Congress. The administration has a number of potential obligations that will need to come from the fund's remaining money, including an expected request from General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC for as much as $22 billion in new loans.
Proving just how controversial the bailout has become, Capitol Hill Democrats last week decided against including a $250 billion placeholder in their budget that the Obama administration had included in its plan to warn of the potential need for a larger bailout.
There are several reasons for the difference between the Treasury's and outside estimates of how much TARP funds remain.
For example, the Treasury's projections don't include all of the $250 billion for a program launched last year to inject taxpayer funds into banks. The Treasury projects that program at $218 billion. A Treasury official said Saturday that while the program could cost as much as $250 billion, the $218 billion number is a more-accurate estimate given that a key application deadline for the program has passed.

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Yakuza?

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They don't have that kind of money anymore.  Bankers, trying to dump it all quietly.

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From the Market Ticker

Gee, I wonder why?  Might the authorities know they're real and be just a wee bit nervous that disclosure of a sovereign attempting to covertly dump nearly $140 billion in debt could cause a wee bit of panic, given that we're running nearly $200 billion a month in deficits?

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Roman around.

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Well, considering 2/3 of the Italian economy is off the books, this isn't too surprising. What were the Japanese doing in Italy?

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/carved_in_black/ObamaMillions.jpg

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Most interesting article i've read in a month.

A couple of points.......

#1 if these are legitimate it is obviously a country behind it and not some Yakuza or some shit, if that is true then why use such an ametuerish operation? Fly the shit in a remote controlled spy plane or something.

#2 if counterfeit why try to smuggle it into Switzerland? Since switerland is NOT and EU country the border controls are quite tight, why not take them to France or the UK where the border controls are Laxer within member EU states? It seems they were trying to get into Switzerland  purely for economic reasons which leads me to believe they are real, not fake.

#3 Why Japanese men? Would that not attract more attention in Europe than say a typical Euro businessman?



A LOT of unaswered questions and weird circumstances.

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Most interesting article i've read in a month.
A couple of points.......
#1 if these are legitimate it is obviously a country behind it and not some Yakuza or some shit, if that is true then why use such an ametuerish operation?

A LOT of unaswered questions and weird circumstances.

Quoted:
Most interesting article i've read in a month.
A couple of points.......
#1 if these are legitimate it is obviously a country behind it and not some Yakuza or some shit, if that is true then why use such an ametuerish operation? Fly the shit in a remote controlled spy plane or something.
#2 if counterfeit why try to smuggle it into Switzerland? Since switerland is NOT and EU country the border controls are quite tight, why not take them to France or the UK where the border controls are Laxer within member EU states? It seems they were trying to get into Switzerland  purely for economic reasons which leads me to believe they are real, not fake.
#3 Why Japanese men? Would that not attract more attention in Europe than say a typical Euro businessman?

A LOT of unaswered questions and weird circumstances.