MAN THAT BROKE THE BANK

Mataura Ensign, 23 January 1912, Page 5

MAN THAT BROKE THE BANK

ELUDED THE POLICE. A CLEVER SCOUNDREL. BI ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.—COPYRIGHT, PEB UNITED PRESS ASSOCIATION LONDON, Jan, 22. Another man alleged to be Wells, alias Rivicr, who opened the Bank of Paris, has disappeared.

Yesterday's cables stated that a man aged 70 years and a woman bad been arrested at Falmouth on board the yacht Excelsior for frauds committed in Paris by inducing people from all parts to invest 3,000,000 francs (about £12,000) on a promise of a return of one per cent, daily. The male prisoner, , who had several aliases including Wells, declared that he thrice broke the bank at Monte Carlo. | Wells was believed to be a financier I : named Louis Rivier, who had built up ! a large business in a short space of I time, disappeared from Paris in April last, and large defalcations were feared. Some time previously Paris and the ; provinces were flooded by a circular, ! which ran: "Fortnightly interest. We! guarantee you one per cent, a day. We are the only house guaranteeing a fort- j nightly interest of 15 per cent, paid re- j gularly. No Stock Exchange knowledge necessary. We do everything for i you. Minimum deposit, £1; maximum, j £4000." As a result the post brought: I to the luxurious apartments of the new I bank, facing the Opera Comique, securi- I ties of all kinds. At first deposits rare- ' ly exceeded £1 in value, but when at the end of three months the clients received in interest double the amount they had paid in, the deposits were increased enormously. In April, 1911, the average daily receipts of the bank amounted to £4OOO and the daily interest payments to £BO. This extraordinary state of affairs attracted the attention of M. Hamard, Chief of the Paris Detective Force, who requested M. Rivier to call at his cabinet at the Surete. M. Rivier failed to arrive at his office at the customary hour, and the head cashier, in order not to ""delay the day's business, which promised to be particularly brisk, took the responsibility of opening his chief's safe. He was astonished to find it empty, except for a piece of paper, on which he read: "I have been summoned by the police. This is the second time I have been thus insulted. My health and age cannot support it any more, and I tender my resignation. The funds of the bank are in the hands of my successor, who will arrive at noon." The successor spoken of in the note proved to be entirely mythical. All day there was a sad procession of depositors outside the premises, and it was estimated that 3000 people had suffered losses. It is stated that M. Rivier got rid of a large number of securities entrusted to him in London, where he often went. His highly respectable appearance is believed to have done much to win him the confidence of intending investors. He had a large white beard, and often wore a wig. Owing to his remarkable knowledge <bf English, the opinion is ventured that he may be of English origin.