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Albania Central Bank Governor Arrested Over Theft Of $7 Million From Bank Vaults

Tyler Durden's picture




 

About a month ago we mocked the Albanian central bank when reports emerged that "two employees" had been charged with the theft of some $6.6 million in cash from the bank's vaults. Specifically, back in July the arrests come five weeks after a worker at the central bank admitted to stealing money over the course of four years, taking new bank notes printed in Switzerland when they arrived at his workplace and replacing them with old books. As it turns out, since there is a central bank involved, there is once again more than meets the eye, and the story has since mutated into something far more grotesque than even we could imagine, with news coming out late last week and over the weekend that not only was the theft by "two employees" a misdirection, but that the guilty party was none other than the Albanian version of Janet Yellen, the governor of the central bank himself Ardian Fullani.

From Reuters:

Albania's central bank governor Ardian Fullani was arrested on Friday evening in his office on charges of abuse of office over the theft of 713 million lek (6.63 million US dollar) from the bank's vaults, the prosecutor's office told Reuters.

 

Fullani had refused to step down despite protests by citizens who started a petition to demand his dismissal. He had won a confidence vote in the supervisory board by a landslide. Fullani is the 17th bank employee to be arrested in the case.

Guess he has shared quite a bit of the nearly $7 million in CTRL-P proceeds with the supervisory board then. However, kickbacks or not, the disgraced money printer will find it next to impossible to print his way out of trouble now that the board appears to have changed its mind for whatever reason:

Albania's central bank board has proposed to parliament that governor Ardian Fullani be sacked after his arrest in connection with the theft of 713 million lek ($6.63 million) from the bank's vaults by an employee, the board said on Sunday.

 

Fullani's fellow board members argued he had "violated ethical rules and heavily damaged the interests of the Bank of Albania".

 

"We believe the absence of the governor does not create an institutional vacuum in the management of the institution since the law clearly enables the first deputy governor to take over the governor's competences," the board statement said.

But they had not problems with voting for Fullani a month ago: did the hush money kickbacks get clawed back?

Elisabeta Gjoni, the first deputy governor, will now be the acting governor.

 

Fullani was arrested on Friday evening on charges of "abuse of office" and the bank's inspector general, Elivar Golemi, was held too, the 19th person at the bank to be prosecuted over the theft.

 

The prosecutor's office said Fullani had failed to plug gaps in oversight at the treasury due to a lack of personnel and regulations, all of which had made the theft possible. He risks a seven-year jail sentence if convicted. A court in the capital Tirana ruled on Sunday that he should await trial in jail.

And this is where it gets hilarious:

Maksim Haxhia, Fullani's lawyer who met him in court on Sunday, told Reuters Fullani declared himself "absolutely innocent" of the charges.

 

Haxhia said the charge was a "dangerous precedent" and the order to await trial in jail was so tough it was "ridiculous".

 

"The head of an institution can never be held responsible when someone else has admitted a crime. We have an actual person admitting it. Why should the top director pay?," Haxhia said.  "This is a very dangerous precedent," he told Reuters by phone.

Well, there is the open question of how much the scapegoat "admitting" to the crime was paid by the central bank head in order to take all the blame.

But we agree: it truly set a dangerous precedent when suddenly it becomes painfully obvious that even central bankers are subject to the same rules and regulations as everyone else.

 

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Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:27 | 5197112 LawsofPhysics
LawsofPhysics's picture

Execute him.  Set the tone Albania.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:29 | 5197116 smlbizman
smlbizman's picture

wag the dog.......

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:36 | 5197133 BaBaBouy
BaBaBouy's picture

Sorry Sorry Folks, There Is NO INDEPENDENT AUDIT Allowed Of The FED...

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:37 | 5197151 Headbanger
Headbanger's picture

And watch for S&P breaking below 1990 you mooks!

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:41 | 5197161 SilverIsKing
SilverIsKing's picture

Bad things happen when the minimum wage is so low. At $15 an hour, he would have had no reason to steal.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:43 | 5197166 GetZeeGold
GetZeeGold's picture

 

 

Well he ain't no Jon Corzine.....that's for damn sure.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:50 | 5197194 COSMOS
COSMOS's picture

Or Former Sec of the Treaure Paulson, who stole close to one Trillion dollars in TARP funds.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:52 | 5197203 JRobby
JRobby's picture

Had to wait a while for someone to point that one out.

This clown is a rank amateur compared to the real financial criminals.

 

 

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:01 | 5197238 SafelyGraze
SafelyGraze's picture

at least you can trust the judges to ensure that lawnorder prevails

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaBe1bE9vIM&feature=youtu.be

 

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:08 | 5197259 Pinto Currency
Pinto Currency's picture

 

 

What is the problem when  you are dealing with central banks that institutionally print trillions of dollars from nothing and give them to market participants.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:25 | 5197324 Reaper
Reaper's picture

Yellin is safe. Steal millions go to jail. Steal trillions; be trusted.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 11:23 | 5197584 Pinto Currency
Pinto Currency's picture

 

 

 

Coinage Act of 1792

 

Penalty on Debasing the Coins


 

Section 19. And be it further enacted, That if any of

 

the gold or silver coins which

 

shall be struck or coined at the said mint

 

shall be debased or made worse as to the

 

proportion of the fine gold or fine silver

 

therein contained, or shall be of less weight

 

or value than the same out to be pursuant to

 

the directions of this act, through the

 

default or with the connivance of any of the

 

officers or persons who shall be employed at

 

the said mint, for the purpose of profit or

 

gain, or otherwise with a fraudulent intent,

 

and if any of the said officers or persons

 

shall embezzle any of the metals which shall

 

at any time be committed to their charge for

 

the purpose of being coined, or any of the

 

coins which shall be struck or coined at the

 

said mint, every such officer or person who

 

shall commit any or either of the said

 

offenses, shall be deemed guilty of felony,

 

and shall suffer death.

 

http://www.constitution.org/uslaw/coinage1792.txt

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 11:06 | 5197515 world_debt_slave
world_debt_slave's picture

don't you mean, King Paulson, you jest

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 12:12 | 5197842 kchrisc
kchrisc's picture

I have already audited the Federal Reserve.

I found: The Federal Reserve is an Unconstitutional foreign controlled criminal organization of fraud and counterfeiting.

An American without the right of "return'."

 

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:33 | 5197137 SoilMyselfRotten
SoilMyselfRotten's picture

Just the tip of the Liceberg

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:45 | 5197176 ThirteenthFloor
ThirteenthFloor's picture

When the bankers know the system will fall, they will rob, steal it blind !

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:58 | 5197209 JRobby
JRobby's picture

S&L Crisis was petty theft compared to this world wide fleecing. But it was a "dress rehearsal" for how you blow up the real estate market. A little summer stock production so to speak.

http://online.barrons.com/news/articles/SB123940701204709985?tesla=y

A good look at what a difference 25 years makes on the definition of "criminal"

http://billmoyers.com/2013/09/17/hundreds-of-wall-street-execs-went-to-p...

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:48 | 5197186 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Rubes.

Our bankers woul never do anything dishonest. 

America, Fuck yeah!

We are exceptional 'cause we make the rules.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:07 | 5197263 the phantom
the phantom's picture

On the bright side, at least he didn't harvest any organs. 

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 11:03 | 5197509 JRobby
JRobby's picture

as far as you know

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 14:49 | 5198628 j0nx
j0nx's picture

Game's up bitches. Smoke 'em if you got 'em. Those at the top know and are making their moves.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:40 | 5197157 ekm1
ekm1's picture

They promised him verbally that if he resigned, he'd be ok.

As soon as he resigned, he got arrested.

Intrigues, backstabbing. A couple of assassinations soon.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 11:07 | 5197527 PT
PT's picture

The world works via an invisible aristocracy.  It works like this:
If they like you, they let you borrow money.
If they don't like you, they make you pay it back.

But I don't know about this Albania gov.  Did he piss off the wrong people, was he too sloppy or did he try to bypass traditional protocol? 

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 11:28 | 5197628 Cacete de Ouro
Cacete de Ouro's picture

How much did Barclays pay Daniel "Minipuke" Plunkett to be the scapegoat for the FCA's gold fixing rap?

A small island in the Maldives perhaps...

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:50 | 5197195 junction
junction's picture

Albania set the tone for the 21st century with the massive pyramid schemes set up in the mid-1990s by well connected crooks.  After this news, someone should check the vaults of the Federal Reserve bank in downtown Manhattan for missing bricks of $100 bills and bars of bullion gold.  Better yet, parole Bernie Madoff and have him look for any crooks, it take a thief to. . . 

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:17 | 5197297 NuckingFuts
NuckingFuts's picture

I was living in Albania in 96 when all that shit went down. Now I know what to expect here, it ain't pretty. A loaf of bread was equal trade for an AK.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:30 | 5197350 boattrash
boattrash's picture

I'd sure as hell like to do a Panamax Freighter load of that trade!

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 12:13 | 5197848 kchrisc
kchrisc's picture

Guillotine the Fed!

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:30 | 5197119 SandiaMan
SandiaMan's picture

replace with a robot.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:30 | 5197120 oudinot
oudinot's picture

When the Romans talked about barbarians, the Albanians were one of them, In Illycrium in Roman times.

Hardy soldiers though.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:34 | 5197130 ekm1
ekm1's picture

Augustus himself was schooled in Illiricum.

But, yes, soldiering is like national export

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:34 | 5197139 Headbanger
Headbanger's picture

And they made a mean SKS !

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:38 | 5197150 ekm1
ekm1's picture

And a lots of AK47s, lately shipped to Kurdistan via NATO

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:40 | 5197156 Headbanger
Headbanger's picture

Oh great!

Now you're making me want to go back to the gun shop again.

There's a sweet Mosin M44 there with a laminated stock that's sooooo sexy..

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:49 | 5197196 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Rope is reusable.

Waste not, want not.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:52 | 5197204 COSMOS
COSMOS's picture

Let us not forget the GREAT ALBANIAN Skanderbeg, one of the greatest generals EVER

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skanderbeg

 

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:00 | 5197237 Arius
Arius's picture

wasnt he greek?  his name is George and my understanding is that alabanians are muslims

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:12 | 5197261 ekm1
ekm1's picture

No. He was albanian.

Albanians are albanians. Religion is not part of national identity, it is a personal choice.

Most people are agnostic, many atheists also

I am christian, but that is my choice

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:16 | 5197290 Arius
Arius's picture

well, yes, you can ...

 

of course you can choose as an individual, but what i mean is what the people as a group are born into?  and dont get me wrong, i do not have any prejudices against muslims ... people are people each religion has good ot bad ... just sayin'

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:21 | 5197300 ekm1
ekm1's picture

People almost never take into account ethinicity.

It matters a lot.

Being born into muslim or christian family has little effect now.

We are christians but my brother married someone from muslim background. Totally irrelevant.

 

'Albanism' takes precedence over religion.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:20 | 5197302 NuckingFuts
NuckingFuts's picture

As Enver once said. " the religion of Albania is albanianism."

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:22 | 5197313 ekm1
ekm1's picture

That was said during independence wars from ottomans.

Turks considered albanian muslim as turks and greeks considered albanian orthodox as greeks.

So, they came up with 'albanism' to make the distinction.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:26 | 5197327 NuckingFuts
NuckingFuts's picture

Gezuar!

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:29 | 5197339 ekm1
ekm1's picture

:-) Gëzuar!

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 12:17 | 5197866 detached.amusement
detached.amusement's picture

Gozer?

 

"Aim for the flat top!!!"

-akroyd

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:32 | 5197125 NoDebt
NoDebt's picture

We should begrudge this guy a little "walking around money"?

Free Fullani!  Free Corzine!

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:33 | 5197131 Karl Napp
Karl Napp's picture

With that Albania qualifies for a full EU membership.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:36 | 5197145 wesson
wesson's picture

soon

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:46 | 5197183 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

The fact is thieves simply cannot trust an honest man.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:33 | 5197132 Karl Napp
Karl Napp's picture

With that Albania qualifies for a full EU membership.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:39 | 5197155 SpanishGoop
SpanishGoop's picture

Honorary membership because it appears to be easy to steal money from Albenia.

 

 

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:35 | 5197142 ...out of space
...out of space's picture

stupid fuck. instet robbing people (like in ciprus for exemple)  he was robbing bank. 

/s

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:45 | 5197182 IronShield
IronShield's picture

You don't need the /s around here; we be suphisticated enuf to git the jist.  ;-)

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:38 | 5197146 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

"...that not only was the theft by "two employees" a misdirection, but that the guilty party was none other than the Albanian version of Janet Yellen, the governor of the central bank himself Ardian Fullani."

Unpossible. All central bankers are the paragon of virtue and truthfullness. Just ask Greenspan, Bernanke et al.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:37 | 5197147 Mi Naem
Mi Naem's picture

$7 million?!?  Sheeeeeeiit, das lunch money.  Where's the rest? 

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:44 | 5197175 achmachat
achmachat's picture

that's because he was stealing mostly cash. Cash is quite bulky and difficult to steal... He's a real amateur compared to all the other bankers out there!

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:59 | 5197487 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

How was he stealing? From what I read, he was selling books.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:38 | 5197148 Seasmoke
Seasmoke's picture

There is never just one cockroach. 

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:38 | 5197154 Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive Dissonance's picture

But there is usually just one refrigerator.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:47 | 5197187 Bangalore Equit...
Bangalore Equity Trader's picture

Listen. You (1+1) make a good "COMEDY TEAM"! Keep it up.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:41 | 5197158 VerseCannon
VerseCannon's picture

The Governor should have looted billions. After all, it's only printed money.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:10 | 5197257 Arius
Arius's picture

who is to say he hasnt?

all the article is saying, is that he is being accused of 6 million that doesnt exclude 1 billion.

 

the way these things works, is that usually people get accused of some petty, chump change .... where as the iceberg lies under the carpet .... just saying ... if someone is stealing and he got the keys and he has been in that position for 10 years or more ... well you guess it ... but with that kind of money comes power, connections or both simultenously...so a few peopl are in the game and usually cover each other ... WASP mafia so to speak

 

you dont believe these people got these jobs in order to serve the country do you?

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:42 | 5197163 olle
olle's picture

Now that gives "creativ book-keeping" a face.....

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:44 | 5197165 Agent P
Agent P's picture

What are you doing, Bohdi?  You're breaking your own rules and taking too much time...you never go to the vault!!!

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:43 | 5197168 himaroid
himaroid's picture

Ardian been partyin'.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:45 | 5197177 element115
element115's picture

7 mil? What an amatuer! Add a couple zeros and maybe the FR can draft him in to the majors.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:48 | 5197188 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

I'm shocked, shocked I say to hear that a central banker is stealing. That's what they do for a living, steal peoples buying power by inflating away the currency.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 09:57 | 5197222 Bangalore Equit...
Bangalore Equity Trader's picture

Listen. "I'LL JUST PRINT SOME MORE IN THE MORNING".

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 12:33 | 5197941 Kprime
Kprime's picture

right.  how can they charge a CB for stealing when that is his primary job description.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:01 | 5197240 QQQBall
QQQBall's picture

This guy was just more direct. How much wealth did Bernank transfer?

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 11:07 | 5197528 JRobby
JRobby's picture

They are still working on that number. You know how "they" are.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:05 | 5197256 Hobbleknee
Hobbleknee's picture

So, invade Syria?

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:14 | 5197283 Downtoolong
Downtoolong's picture

Ardian, wake up you old-school fool. You’re a central banker for Christ’s sake. We don’t steal cash from vaults anymore. We counterfeit it, and call it QE.

Ben & Janet

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:27 | 5197330 yogibear
yogibear's picture

This guy must have fell out of favor. A small fish. Another fall guy.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:47 | 5197428 Dre4dwolf
Dre4dwolf's picture

Thats nothing Ben Bernanke and his friends stole 16 Trillion USD and the American people dont even give a shit!

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 10:50 | 5197442 Pumpkin
Pumpkin's picture

This guy wasn't trained correctly.  This is not how bankers rob a bank.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 11:09 | 5197538 JRobby
JRobby's picture

If you want to legally rob a bank, buy one. Or set one up with all your buds! More fun!

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 11:40 | 5197678 PT
PT's picture

and "A banking licence is only 500 bucks!  Unemployed people should get themselves a banking licence.  It's a licence to legally steal money!" - Max Keiser

Just had a quick look to try and find the video but I couldn't find it.  Way past my bedtime so I can't look any longer.  Anyone remember which episode?

err, obviously Albanian gov forgot how to do it right.  He didn't get charged for stealing.  He got charged for not stealing enough.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 11:00 | 5197488 CrazyCatLady
CrazyCatLady's picture

Wonder if the whole board was investing that graft into something that went tits up.  He's the scapegoat? 

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 11:35 | 5197652 QQQBall
QQQBall's picture

Pretty soon, the albanian currency will be so weak that he will sneak back in and replace the books with currency

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 17:50 | 5199404 Monty Burns
Monty Burns's picture

Albania is one terrible corrupt incompetent Muslim country (but I repeat myself) that Tony Bliar is working hard on to get into the EU.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 12:10 | 5197814 Emergency Ward
Emergency Ward's picture

A banker arrested for stealing a measly $7 million -- what the fuck -- talk about a guy with no friends!

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 12:06 | 5197825 Bunga Bunga
Bunga Bunga's picture

Are we surprised?

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 12:42 | 5197966 NuYawkFrankie
NuYawkFrankie's picture

Cenrtral Banker steals $7Million... 

This is newsworthy? Are you kidding me???

Wouldn't even register on the Richter Scale of Fed Fraud.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 17:48 | 5199401 Monty Burns
Monty Burns's picture

It's newsworthy because he stole only $7 million.

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 12:54 | 5198027 Piranha
Piranha's picture

he physically stole banknotes...im impressed..thats old school style - a modern banker would just hit ctrl P and then wire the amount

Tue, 09/09/2014 - 15:08 | 5198749 Perfecthedge
Perfecthedge's picture

He is a bad Banker.  He got caught!! Decent Central Bankers steal and don't go to jail. 

Thu, 09/11/2014 - 08:45 | 5199283 oudinot
oudinot's picture

I was in Ecadour about four years ago, Correa the socialist was voted in.  The Central bankers-from the opposing party-there were two of them they took the equivalent of $4 billion American in the local curfrency  and headed off to Switzerland with the loot.  The local currency the Sucre (named after a previous Bolivian general I think) ; the new government switched immediately to the American dollar and the scoundrels were fucked.

However, when you use an American dollar they will give you back in change (they almost always 'didn't have any American dollars)in sucres, the banned currency.  No one ever could give exact change and no one wanted the sucres back. They would except it in a pinch (to use on the next sucker 'gringo')but at a discount in goods.

Anyways, Cuenca on the last night there I took out my friends to a nice restaurant and met the owner of the restaurant; in the city of 500,000 2200 metres asove sea level 100 miles form the Pacific coast there wer 6 families that owned the valley (about two miles across, 5 miles long), the city.  Four were Spanis, one was French and one was Jewish.  They all had thier sectors of town .

When I got the change from my one hudred American dollar bill $83 dollrs and a generous tips-5 people, 5 steaks, wine , beers-I got 17 brand new sucres (they keep it at par with the US$), I mean really new (felt kind of warm) and shiny made out of a cheap tin it seems.  I asked him, he told me they six families 'print up thier own sucres', (he said he could show me his 'printer' down in the basement) but try to deal primarily with touristsas they don't want to comptete with the smaller vendors on the street

A beautiful country, didn't seem violent, pretty-my buddy's place he bought for 110K nicest part of town by the river 5 th floor pentouse , well buit, 3 bedroom and $8 dolars a year in tax.

These people in the thirld world are looked down upon, but almost any of them could out think our EBT warriors in their sleep......

 

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