Primer: How to transport $130 billion

The WTF News of the day:

Two Japanese nationals were detained by Italian financial police last week after trying to enter Switzerland with $134 billion worth of undeclared U.S. bonds, mostly Treasury bonds, an Italian daily said Wednesday. According to the report in il Giornale, two unidentified Japanese in their 50s concealed the bonds, including 249 U.S. Treasury bonds each worth $500 million, in a suitcase with a false bottom that was searched by the Italian authorities June 3 when they were in Chiasso, at the border with Switzerland, about 50 kilometers north of Milan. 

Wow! They were caught transporting $134 billion ... not 134 billion yen - which would still be a mind boggling $1.37 billion! Would they have been caught if they were using the Gulfstream IV or Gulfstream V? instead of a car? 

Folks, $135 billion is so much money that it will wipe most of India's External debt ($140 billion). Only 29 countries in the world have more external debt than the amount captured in the raid. Also, i am wondering if this amount is legal or black money. Does it belong to any bank or does it belong to some mafia gang? Why am i thinking that this news will suddenly die down & we will never hear more about this incident?

Another aspect of the news that surprised me - Italian Financial Police. Do these folks go around Financial institutes dressed in coats & ties? I bet India can do well with one such special force dedicated to fight black money? Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, i hope you are listening.

My Vote is for sale - Part 1

I see nothing wrong in putting my vote for sale. In fact, i am thinking of writing an entire series of demands to the person seeking my vote.

The party that goes after money stolen in India and deposited outside gets my vote. So, here is what i want my party to do.

Step 1: Prepare a list of all countries that act as tax havens and publish it publically.

Step 2: Call the envoys/ambassadors of these nations for a meeting and give them an ultimatum. They have 3 months to produce a list of account holders and the amount stored in the banks in their countries.

Step 3: If the countries refuse, we ban these countries - economically & politically. All companies HQed in these tax havens will be refused license to operate in India. Citizens from these countries won't be allowed to travel to India and vice-versa. A complete black-out.

It is rumored that 700,00,00,00,00,000 (70 lakh crores!) - a full 162% of India's GDP of 43 lakh crores - is boarded outside India. Time to bring back the money.