counterfeit bonds

Is it all just funny money?

The headline isn't all that impressive - "US government securities seized from Japanese nationals." It's the subtitle that really catches a person's attention:

Bonds worth US$ 134.5 billion are seized. This is the largest financial smuggling case in history. But are they real? Concern over ‘funny money’ or counterfeit securities is spreading in Asia. The international press is silent.

The story goes like this: two Japanese nationals in their 50s were stopped by Italian police in the town of Chiasso while trying to cross into Switzerland.
In a suitcase with a false bottom they were trying to hide 249 U.S. Treasury bonds, each worth $500 million, plus 10 Kennedy bonds each worth $1 Billion.