A gang of bungling Chinese forgers tried to swindle the Bank of England out of £28Billion by attempting to cash £500,000 and £1,000 notes, a court heard yesterday.The crooks asked if they could exchange them for cash through Aussie “lawyer” Ross Cowie.
But the Bank of England has never issued the larger denomination notes, and only 63 of the smaller notes – officially withdrawn in 1943 and making up the lion’s share of the claim – are unaccounted for, it was said.
The signature of a former Bank of England cashier on the larger notes had also been incorrectly forged.
The gang, said to be led by Chin Lim, of Bromley, Kent, claimed the notes came from six senior members of the pre-Communist government in China aged between 109 and 116, Southwark Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Martin Evans called the plan “audacious”.
Lim, 50, along with Ping Mak, 56, Kim Teo, 41, Kwok Chan, 55, Chi Chung, 53, and Ross Cowie, 62, all from London, all deny conspiracy to defraud.
The trial continues.
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