The federal court in Washington considered the claim where the bills totally worth $4,245,800 were sued, Bloomberg reported Monday, January 13.
U.S. federal agents seized these U.S. banknotes shipped from Banco Piano SA suspecting of a try to launder money.
In his turn, the owner of the bank Alfredo Piano said that his bank shipped banknotes for exchange purpose. It was literally dirty money affected by fire, water or animals.
According to Piano, Argentines prefer to keep their savings in U.S. dollar bills at home rather than in banks. They stash their savings under mattresses or in wall openings so that the cash is often tattered, ripped, etc. That was the reason why Piano sent a few million dollars in cash to the U.S.
The U.S. Secret Service and the Mutilated Currency Division conducted an 18-month investigation into the case.
In late 2013, the U.S. and Banco Piano SA settled mutual claims, Bloomberg said. The federal court in Washington approved a settlement reached between the two sides. It called for returning about $4 million to the bank; the rest $202 million were confiscated.
According to the Fed, as of 2006, about $60 billion was in Argentina. One in nine U.S. dollars of the total cash in circulation outside the United States belongs to Argentines.
