Here's where the fraud began....Bank paper fraud certificates trillions introduced by spy ( below )...
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THE INDEPENDENT - United Kingdom
Ex-Met Officer Convicted Of Role In $2.5 Trillion Bond Fraud
by, Jason Bennetto - Crime Correspondent
September 19, 2003
A former police forensic scientist and a former spy, were convicted yesterday of taking part in one of the world's biggest frauds, a swindle involving fake United States government Treasury bonds worth $2,500,000,000,000 trillion ( ?1,500,000,000,000 trillion ).
The fraudsters were caught when a Canada police officer noticed an error on some of the bonds which said "dollar" rather than "dollars."
Graham Halksworth ( 69 ) from Mossley, Greater Manchester, UK and Michael Slamaj ( 56 ) from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada were warned at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London yesterday to expect long prison sentences for their crimes.
Graham Halksworth, who helped pioneer fingerprint evidence while working for Scotland Yard, authenticated $2,500,000,000,000 trillion of bogus U.S. Treasury bonds that he knew were fake, the court was told.
Halksworth, a retired forensic scientist, was paid ?69,000 for his work.
The false documents, which had a face value of more than all the gold ever mined, were used by other criminals to obtain credit.
The scheme unravelled when two ( 2 ) other men tried to cash $25,000,000 million worth of the bonds - a form of IOU issued by the U.S. government - at a bank in Toronto, Canada.
After spotting the error in high-denomination fake bonds, Canada law enforcement found the documents had been produced on a type of printer that had not been invented in 1934 - the date on the bonds.
The bonds also included postcodes not introduced in the U.S. until 1963.
Michael Slamaj, a former Yugoslavia spy, argued in court that the bonds were issued by the U.S. government in exchange for gold given by the Chiang Kai-Shek nationalist government of China during the 1940s in a secret attempt to undermine the communist China revolution.
A plane carrying the bonds supposedly crashed on Mindanao island in The Philippines during 1948 and were recovered by local people.
Michael Slamaj, who claimed he had been given the bonds by Filipino tribesmen, took them to London 3-years ago.
Fake bonds are frequently manufactured in the Philippines.
Graham Halksworth said he believed the bonds were genuine.
Steven Perian, for the prosecution, said: "This case is all about an expert who has turned dishonest, an expert who has taken into bed with greed. He has provided fraudulent documentation, certificates of authenticity to federal bonds that never existed. These documents were used to obtain credit and to deceive people into parting with their money.'
Graham Halksworth stored the bonds at the HSBC bank in Holborn, Central London, in 22 document cases which had been stamped with the American golden eagle.
During his 35-year career Halksworth has authenticated 5,000 historical documents for clients including the Chinese and German governments, and the Bank of England.
In May 2001, City of London Police were tipped off by the Hong Kong authorities after two Australians were arrested with bonds and a certificate signed by Halksworth. He was arrested and a vault at the HSBC Safety Deposit Centre in London was searched by police. Halksworth's home and office were also searched. Hundreds of the bonds were recovered along with several authentication certificates.
In March 2002, a London solicitor tipped off police about Slamaj after he became suspicious about a transaction that he had been asked to broker. Slamaj was arrested at Heathrow airport but released on bail. He was re-arrested the following day when he went to recover the bonds from a safety deposit box.
Detective Inspector Roger Cook said many of the bonds were still in circulation. "There are no genuine Federal Reserve notes from 1934," he warned. "Anyone who is offered them should contact the police or report it to their bank and withdraw from any transaction straight away."
Halksworth and Slamaj were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud. Slamaj was also convicted of possessing fake bonds.
Sentencing was adjourned.
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