$134B in Bonds Seized in Italy 'Clearly Fake'

US debt office tells conspiracy theorists to calm down
By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 18, 2009 8:16 AM CDT
$134B in Bonds Seized in Italy 'Clearly Fake'
A briefcase seized by Italian authorities near the Swiss border contained counterfeit US bonds with a face value of $134 billion.   (©lisadragon)

Conspiracy theorists, take note: The US bonds seized near the Swiss border with a face value of $134 billion "are clearly fakes," a Washington spokesman tells Bloomberg. Most securities are now issued electronically, only about $105 billion in bonds have yet to be surrendered, and the "Kennedy bonds" found on the two detained Japanese businessmen don't even exist. Had the bonds been genuine, the men would have been the fourth-largest holders of US debt.
(More Italy stories.)

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