Fake Cash-van Takes a Million before Real One Shows upA counterfeit cash-van arrived at a local deposit outlet of Bank of China's (BOC) Wenzhen Branch, in eastern China, on May 9, and drove away with a million yuan equivalent notes before the real one showed up.The fake van looked no different from the real one, a blackened Southeast-Delica minivan produced in China, and the four people on it looked equally the same: wearing helmets, clothes of special economic police, and electric batons, except they personally appeared different. It was raining all afternoon in Wenzhou on May 9, and employees at the Sports Center outlet were preparing to call their day, except the cashier there was busy accounting. The van arrived at about 6:40 pm, 15 minutes earlier than usual, but caught nobody's suspicion. BOC regulations rule the cashier checks with the cash-van staff and goes through the procedure of signing the money transferring. Because the cashier there was kept busy, one of the accountants did it on behalf of the cashier, said Wenzhou police. The van drove away with three money boxes containing 710,000 yuan Renminbi notes and $40,000 US dollars, which is equivalent to 330,000 yuan. It was too late when the authentic cash-van arrived 15 minutes later. Wenzhou police said the case is now under investigation. A similar bank ``robbery" case took place in the city in 1998. In that case, People's Bank of China Wenzhou Branch found three money boxes sent to it containing piles of copier paper, and a total of 7.5 million yuan (US$903,600) was gone. It remains unknown today who took away the money. Source: China Daily |
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