Today Europe cracked down on tax evasion, three weeks ago Cyprus fleeced the mafia to pay its debts, and now an analyst at Bank of America is suggesting the European Central Bank do the same.
Spaniards used to call €500 notes “Bin Ladens.” Everyone knew the big denomination bills existed, the joke went, but no one had ever seen them. Now, Bank of America analyst Athanasios Vamvakidis is arguing that the European Central Bank should do a Seal Team Six and exterminate these controversial bills.
The reasoning is that the bills are rarely circulated and generally used by criminals. UK wholesalers no longer deal in them afterthe U.K.’s Serious Organized Crime Agency once claimed that 90% of all €500 notes were in the hands of organized crime.
Vamvakidis says the ECB could require that the bank notes be deposited in accounts or exchanged for smaller notes, but only to those who can prove that the source of their funds was legal. Then the ECB could use the profits for other purposes or distribute them to governments.
It`s a crazy idea but these are crazy times in euroland.
