Considering all central bank money is created out of thin air, without actual collateral (unlike money created by commercial banks) and just has the backing of the (diluted) "full faith and credit" of the issuer, the only real use for such money is to be "embezzled" either legally - by banks where it ends up as reserves and is then used to push risk assets higher and make the merely uber richer uberest rich... or illegally. It is the latter shortcut that numerous employees of the central bank of Albania decided to pursue when the central bank discovered that around 713 million lek, or $6.7 million, in cash had been stolen two weeks ago.
What is most peculiar however, is that the bank has since been engaged in a damage limitation exercise involving state prosecutors, the removal of two executives, and calls for governor Ardian Fullani to resign from protesters outside the central bank. Strange because in the US nobody would even bother with a $7 million POMO: central bank theft in the world's most advanced country only takes place in billion + increments. And naturally, nobody is ever prosecuted because those who do the robbing are the de facto owners of the money printing institution.
[5]
From Central Banking [6]:
The Bank of Albania has sacked and replaced all employees charged with stealing cash from the central bank, and implemented a thorough internal inquiry – but yesterday denied reports that the governor Ardian Fullani had himself been sacked.
The bank discovered the theft of around 713 million lek ($6.7 million) two weeks ago, and has since been engaged in a damage limitation exercise involving state prosecutors, the removal of two executives, and calls for Fullani to resign from protesters outside the central bank.
According to a statement published on the Bank of Albania's website, two former employees have been charged with theft, and the head of banknote issuance and the head of the security department have been replaced. Moreover, three working groups have been set up, to conduct a complete inventory of banknotes held by the bank; to verify if there has been any leak of secret information; and to ascertain whether employees dealing with cash acted in compliance with the rules.
The Bank of Albania supervisory board has said that if the regulatory framework had been implemented properly, the theft would have been detected and prevented. The board said it has observed flouting of the rules and procedures around the storing of banknotes.
In a separate statement today, the central bank said claims made on television channel Vision Plus, that Fullani has been removed from office, are not true. The supervisory board said it has made "no proposal ... for the dismissal of the governor of the Bank of Albania".
What is the New Normal coming to when taking the only product a central bank produces - in fact the only source of "growth" for the past 6 years - is a punishable offense?
