Bogus: The bonds were seized in Switzerland following after a year-long investigation

Fraud on a massive scale: The bonds were dated from 1934 – but U.S. authorities were able to confirm that they were fake

Prosecutors said the fraud had not been completed, but that it appeared that the suspects intended to try to sell the fake bonds to a developing nation, directly or through an intermediary bank.

The Swiss Federal Prosecutor’s office said Zurich state prosecutors had worked on the investigation at the request of the Italian prosecutor. The Swiss handed over their findings in July of last year.

Paper trail: An Italian Carabinieri shows off the stash fake bonds

The huge haul could make a huge dent in Italy’s national debt, which currently stands at around $2,525,436,170,700 (€1,920,483,780,000).

Recently, Carabinieri carrying out a routine search at a highway rest stop found a briefcase containing $20billion in fake bonds.

And in 2009, Italian financial police seized $742billion of fake U.S. bearer bonds in the northern Italian town of Chiasso, near the Swiss border.

Case for the prosecution: The bonds were sealed in this trunk