'Bungling counterfeit gang tried to fake £500,000 note'

A gang of counterfeiters tried to con the Bank of England out of £28bn by claiming to have a collection of £1,000 and £500,000 notes, a court heard yesterday.

However, the 'audacious' plot was foiled by the fact that the £1,000 notes had not been legal tender for more than 60 years and the £500,000 version never existed.



Six men yesterday went on trial at London's Southwark Crown Court charged with conspiring to defraud the Bank of England.

62-year-old Ross Cowie, who described himself as an Australian lawyer, claimed to represent a 'family' of former Chinese nationalist officials - the oldest of whom was 116 - who had 360 'special issue' £500,000 notes. Suspicious bank officials called in the City of London police, who arranged for an undercover officer to attend a meeting with Cowie and three other men of Chinese origin, the court heard.



The men allegedly confirmed that they had £118m in £500,000 notes and an 'avalanche' of £1,000 notes that they wished to exchange.

Cowie, of Kensington, West London-denies conspiring to defraud the Bank between December 1 2006 and March 27 this year. Also in the dock is Chin 'Daniel' Lim, 50, of Bromley, Kent; Kim Teo, 41, of Finchley, North London; Ping Mak, 56, and Kwok Chan, 55, both of Streatham, South-West London; and Chi Chung, 53, of Shepherds Bush, West London.