Con men used Monopoly money to pay for €6 million worth of jewels

A Greek jeweller who thought he’d found a way to avoid the tax man was left empty-handed and red-faced after selling over €6 million (£4.7 million, $7.5 million) worth of jewels to two con men who paid him with a suitcase full of Monopoly money.

It started several weeks back when two people who claimed they were French contacted the Greek man to buy four “rare” rings and a necklace. After some discussions online and over the phone, the trio decided to meet in Paris to do the deal. So it was on September 25th the men met. The buyers came with a suitcase filled with €6 million in cash, which is not uncommon in deals for pricey antiques or jewellery where the parties want to avoid paying taxes.



At this point, the jeweller later claimed to police, to carry out his due diligence on the money. He says he plucked one of the wads of €500 bills out of the case and took it around the corner to currency exchange for verification. Once the veracity of the bills was verified, the jeweller says he headed back to the hotel and concluded the sale. However then things took a turn for the worse from his point of view.

“After his clients left the jeweller checked the rest of the bills. That’s when he realized there was a problem. The majority of the bills bore the name of the famous game Monopoly,” an unnamed source said. The jeweller then desperately tried to reach the buyers, but not surprisingly they didn’t answer their phone. Instead he ended walking into the police station and recounting his sad tale.