Oct 24, 2007
Haven't You Got Anything Smaller?
An international counterfeiting gang tried to con the Bank of England out of £28 billion with"special issue" £500,000 notes that they had invented, a court was told yesterday.
"They wanted the Bank to pay them the face value for thousands of forged notes, also including £1,000 notes - a denomination that had not been legal tender for more than 60 years. Southwark Crown Court was told that only 63 of the notes remain unaccounted for by the Bank of England."
. . .
"But their plan was undone by a number of errors: there never was a £500,000 note, they referred to the bank in documents as the 'England Bank' and they did not correctly forge the signature of Sir Jasper Quintus Hollom, the chief cashier of the Bank of England, the court was told. He always used his first two initials when signing his name rather than just the second that the gang used.
"The money they claimed to possess represented more than two thirds of all sterling in circulation, Martin Evans, for the prosecution, told the court."
"They wanted the Bank to pay them the face value for thousands of forged notes, also including £1,000 notes - a denomination that had not been legal tender for more than 60 years. Southwark Crown Court was told that only 63 of the notes remain unaccounted for by the Bank of England."
. . .
"But their plan was undone by a number of errors: there never was a £500,000 note, they referred to the bank in documents as the 'England Bank' and they did not correctly forge the signature of Sir Jasper Quintus Hollom, the chief cashier of the Bank of England, the court was told. He always used his first two initials when signing his name rather than just the second that the gang used.
"The money they claimed to possess represented more than two thirds of all sterling in circulation, Martin Evans, for the prosecution, told the court."