Member-only story
Who Needs Bitcoin When You Can Print Your Own Legal Currency (Sort Of)
The amazing story of the man who ‘stole Portugal
When you think of huge financial scams, who comes to mind?
Bernie Madoff? Charles Ponzi?
Pfft. They are amateurs. If you want a Masterclass in financial scams, then look no further than Alves dos Reis from Portugal. In terms of brazen financial fraud, he claims the Gold Medal.
Who the hell is Alves dos Reis?
LinkedIn wasn’t around in the time of dos Resis but for a bit of fun, let’s create a LinkedIn profile of sorts for him.
Born:
Lisbon, Portugal 1896
Education:
Diploma of Engineering — Oxford University (forged)
Polytechnic School of Engineering (school doesn’t exist)
Career:
A major shareholder of the Transafrican Railways of Angola (purchased with a fake cheque)
Prison
Career Highlights:
Caused an economic crisis that led to a nationalist military coup d’etat.
Ok, let’s pause here because despite this unique profile so far, it is now that…
