Kreuger’s Colossal Frauds

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 6836, 18 April 1932, Page 7

Kreuger’s Colossal Frauds

Bogus Banks, Fictitious Contracts, Forged Bonds Vast Sums of Money Involved United Press Assn.— By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright. Received Sunday, 9.50 p.m. STOCKHOLM, April 16. The police have arrested Lange, Huldt and Holm, three directors of the Kreuger-Toll Company. They arc charged with the falsification of the balance-sheet and profit and loss account in connection -with the Krcuger affair. It is revealed that since 1928 Kreuger-Toll share debentures exceeded £50,000,000, of which nearly £25,000,000 in the InterSwedish Match Company and over £20,000,000 in the International Match Corporation.

According to the indictment Lange, Huldt and Holm weic merely dummy directors performing like automatons Kreuger s behests in concerns founded solely and fraudulently for the transfer of funds.

Other accusations in the amazing series of alleged frauds include a bogus bank, fictitious assets and secret safe for foigec documents.

Lange was director of the Garanta Company of Hollanc which was based mainly on an allegedly fictitious contract giving the company the retail sale of matches in I olancl. It was also alleged that a bogus match monopoly with Spain in return for a loan of 180,000,000 pesetas was found m Kreuger’s room. It is alleged that Huldt at Kreuger’s orders founded a Dutch bank for Scandinavian trade in Amsterdam which never did business. It only kept fictitious books and assets amounting to millions appeared in the balance-sheet. Among the fictitious assets of Kreuger-Toll of which Holm was a director was allegedly £35,000,000 worth of Dutch florins in the Danzig International Bank which Kreuger started m 1931. Regarding the forgery of the Italian State bonds the discovery has been made that the Kreuger-Toll documents were printed in Stockholm at an establishment to which Kreuger personally delivered the necessary copper plates emphasising the imperativeness of secrecy. The plates were found in Kreuger’s secret safe. It is believed Kreuger intended to use the foiged bonds to balance his 1931 accounts for which he issued instructions iust before bis suicide. Experts have established that 4u or the bonds each for £500,000 and printed in England were forgeries. SWEDEN BEARS THE BURDEN. Received Sunday, 9.25 p.m. LONDON, April 16. The Daily Telegraph says it is expetced the Swedish income tax will be increased at least 20 per cent, owing to the Government losses on the Kreuger taxes. It is now stated definitely that Kreuger forged Italian Treasury bonds to the extent of £16,000,000. It has not been discovered what use he made of them.