http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/027593.html
I am trying to dig up as much news on our national newspapers as possible but insofar the link Lew provided is still the best source of news.
A few consideration before starting: Lugano (the place these two men were bound to) is a much more important center than it looks. It used to be the place Lombards (unlawfully!) took their savings to escape rapacious taxation rates until Swiss raised taxes for non-residents to unbearable heights and bank secrecy was considerably weakened. It has also always been a favorite place for shadowy financial deals. Also if you do not wish to get caught there are a million safer ways to cross the border: Japanese tourists are very common in the area so boarding a tour bus or hiring a car would have been much safer bets.
Frankly I am inclined to believe the fake bonds idea: these things are becoming more commonplace than you may think and scamming people is much easier than you may think. Don’t ask me why I know that.
Problem is the entity of the face values is enormous. There are very few individuals and even enterprises ready to deal with such sums and any bank can have them checked at SEC without too much hassle. In short these things, even if genuine, are pretty much unsellable.
Any ideas?