WHICH US BANK SENT $9.3m IN UNCIRCULATED GREENBACKS TO NIGERIA ?

The recent airport seizure, in the Republic of South Africa, of $9.3m in brand-new, uncirculated US $100 notes, which had arrived from the Nigerian capital, Abuja, begs the question: which American bank was the source for all that new cash ? The money was not declared, contrary to South African regulations, and it was taken from two Nigerian nationals, and an Israeli, all of whom arrived on a business jet.

The individuals who were attempting to smuggle in the cash alleged that the money was for arms purchases, on behalf of certain unspecified Nigerian security services. That begs the question: why wasn't the payment, as large as it was, to be made via wire transfer, if it was a government services ? The story was obviously a fabrication, as any official purchaser would have filed the necessary customs declaration upon arrival. This was dirty money, notwithstanding its uncirculated condition.

This brings us to the primary issue at hand: How did these individuals get their hands on this cash ? What Nigerian financial institution obtained it, and what American bank sent it, and for what legitimate reason ? Perhaps some of our readers who work at the Department of the Treasury might want to obtain the serial numbers from South African authorities, using the Legal Attache at the US Embassy in Pretoria, to learn the origin of this dirty cash.