The Portuguese Banknote Case

Author:

Nigel Armstrong-Fleming FCA

Report:

34

Page:

63

Year:

2007

Subject Matter:

Lisbon and OPorto Factory Houses, British Merchants and Ec. Relations

Excerpt:

In 1925 in London, the printing company Waterlow and Sons was persuaded to print Portuguese banknotes using the official plates it had as a result of having carried out previous contracts for the Bank of Portugal. The company delivered the notes throughout most of that year to people who had no legal authority to receive them, with the illicit banknotes amounting to about 16.5% of the total banknotes in circulation in Portugal. The organiser of the elaborate confidence trick was Alvaro dos Reis, who had a background as a forger. The author describes in detail how the plot was organised and its consequences, which led ultimately to the installation of the Salazar regime.

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