GERMAN BUBBLES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16455, 17 June 1921, Page 7

GERMAN BUBBLES.

A HUGE BANK SWINDLE. MILLIONS INVESTED. . DIRECTORS GAMBLE PROCEEDS. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright , Australian and an.Z. Cable Association. (Received Juno 17, 10.5 a.m.) I/ONDON, Juno 16. Th© Berlin correspondent of the *• Daily Chronicle ” states that a gigantic swindle, recalling the South Sea Bubble, has been revealed. For many months institutions called Sport Banks have been springing up in all parts of Germany, especially in Saxony. By means of a big ndveiTising campaign tho public have been persuaded to invest, being promised a dividend of 100 per cent, Less 5 per cent for charges, after tho money had been invested for eight weeks. Dividends were paid for a considerable time. There was an enormous rush to invest, pejopl© .standing for hours in long queues in order to do so. One Berlin bank advertised that it had paid out twenty-nine million of marks since the New Year. Now. two Dresden Sport Banks have suspended payment, and a run immediately commenced on all the Sport Banks when it became known. The directors at Dresden fled tho country, though two have since been arrested. A further big crash is expected. The directors of the Sport Banks admit that they used the money to carry out betting transactions on the racecourses, and it is believed that largo sums were used to bribe jockeys. An estimate puts the public investments at 1,000,(XX),000 marks, nomially £50,000,000.

TWO GERMANS ARRESTED. HUGE DEALS IN ARMY SUPPLIES. By Telegraph—Pres, Association—Copyright. Australian and N.Z. Cable Association. (Received June 17, 9.25 a.m ) BERLIN. June 16. Another financial scandal which has been reported involves Germany’s greatest racehorse owner, Leo Levine, and his brother Max, who have been arrested for bribing Government officials and prominent "members of Parliament in order to smuggle great sums out of Germany The firm thus made 700, (XX),000 marks since the armistice. Levine’s relations in parliamentary circles were utilised to secure a monopoly in leather textiles, army stJcks of which they secured at knock-out rates. The brothers were released on a bail of 5,000,000 marks.