Charges pressed after $5m fake banknote scheme uncovered
Two alleged Swiss fraudsters have been charged with attempting to print a stockpile of fake US dollar bills with a face value of at least $5 million.
According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the accused, a 72-year-old from the canton of Thurgau and a 49-year-old from the canton of Aargau, must answer before the Federal Criminal Court.
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A police inspection of a production facility for legal CBD hemp in canton Zurich in November 2022 set prosecutors on the counterfeiters’ trail. According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, suspicion arose that illegal drugs were also being produced in this facility. The police therefore searched the property as well as locations in the cantons of Thurgau and Aargau.
During searches, almost 300 kilograms of marijuana with THC content above the limit were seized. In addition, semi-finished products worth around $8 million were discovered.
Both suspects were arrested and criminal proceedings were opened against them. As a result, they were unable to complete their counterfeit money production.
The two Swiss are accused of attempting to produce counterfeit money. The younger man also must also answer for violating the Narcotics Act and violating the Weapons Act.
According to the indictment, the two are said to have set up and operated a highly professional forgery workshop in the younger man’s commercial premises from mid-November 2021. The younger man invested over CHF130,000 in this project.
The older suspect, a trained printer, contributed his specialist knowledge. He is said to have been responsible for ordering the necessary printing presses, equipment and materials as well as producing the counterfeit $50 notes, supported by his accomplice.
The investigation revealed that the pair wanted to create the most perfect forgeries possible. The Federal Prosecutor wrote that they had continually improved the individual printing steps. When they were discovered during the house search, they were busy with the final printing process.
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Translated from German by DeepL/mga
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