http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061102/od_afp/germanymoneycrimeoffbeat_061102170108
Euro bills in Germany mysteriously disintegrating Thu Nov 2, 12:01 PM ET AFP/Bundesbank Photo: Hundreds of euro bills in Germany have mysteriously disintegrated in the last several months, apparently... BERLIN (AFP) - Investigators are attempting to learn why hundreds of euro bills in Germany have mysteriously disintegrated in recent months, the government and the country's central bank have revealed. An interior ministry spokesman confirmed a report in the daily Bild that state police in Berlin and the southwestern state of Rhineland-Palatinate have opened probes after about 1,000 bills self-destructed. "This is unprecedented," a spokeswoman for the Bundesbank central bank said. The case surfaced in June in Berlin when a 20-euro bill crumbled on contact. Police first suspected a fluke but the number of "broken notes", as investigators have dubbed the bills, continued to rise in August. Bild, which splashed the headline "Acid attack on our money!" on its front page, said that chemists believed the bills may have been sprinkled with a sulfate salt that becomes sulfuric acid when it comes in contact with moisture, such as hand perspiration. The bills then gradually disintegrate. A Berlin police spokesman confirmed that laboratory analysis of the bills had identified traces of sulfuric acid. "To date we do not have any indication that a crime has been committed," the spokesman said, adding that it was possible that an accident led to the contamination of the bills. Investigators had told Bild that they suspected would-be extortionists were behind the case, aiming to prove they can destroy currency at will. The interior ministry spokesman said it appeared Germany was the only country affected in the 12-member eurozone. One theory was that bank machines were the source of the contamination, he said. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said it was possible the bills were stolen during a cash shipment and that the hijackers had used chemicals to remove anti-theft coloration that can be released when cash is stolen. But he added that the ECB had no direct involvement in the case and that German authorities were handling the investigation. The Bundesbank ruled out a printing or paper defect. Serial numbers confirm the bills were produced by the Federal Printing Press. The spokeswoman said the affected bills posed no danger to the public and that consumers could exchange them at Bundesbank branches. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Post message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe : [EMAIL PROTECTED] List owner : [EMAIL PROTECTED] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
