Dirty money: who flushed €90,000 down the loo in Geneva?
Torn-up €500 bills stuffed down bank and restaurant toilets

Swiss prosecutors are investigating why someone tried to flush tens of thousands of euros down toilets around Geneva, including the loo that serves a UBS bank vault.
The money - around €90,000 (£80,000), says ABC News - is thought to have been cut up with scissors. The first batch was discovered in May, in a toilet near a safe-deposit room at a branch of UBS in the financial district, according to a report in Tribune de Geneve newspaper that was confirmed by the city prosecutor’s office.
Days later, cash was discovered clogging the toilets and pipes at three nearby restaurants, Bloomberg says.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The bills, which are legal currency, were in denominations of €500 (£444). The European Central Bank said last year that it intended to take €500 notes out of circulation, because of their links to illicit activities including money laundering.
Investigators reportedly told Tribune de Geneve that they suspect the money may have belonged “to Spanish women who placed it in a safe-deposit box several years ago”.
But Vincent Derouand, from the Geneva Prosecutor’s Office, said that throwing money away was not a crime, reports Sky News, and that the investigators are “not so interested in the motive”, but “want to be sure of the origin of the money”.
UBS declined to comment, Bloomberg says.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Gaza is running out of cash
Under The Radar Palestinians pay the price as black market springs up around banknotes and coins
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Law firms: Caving to White House pressure
Feature Trump targets major law firms tied to his past investigations
By The Week US Published
-
Venezuelan deportees: Locked up for tattoos?
Feature A former pro soccer player was deported after U.S. authorities claimed his tattoo proved he belonged to a Venezuelan gang
By The Week US Published
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weapons
The Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
By Abby Wilson Published
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarray
In the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Ukrainian election: who could replace Zelenskyy?
The Explainer Donald Trump's 'dictator' jibe raises pressure on Ukraine to the polls while the country is under martial law
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published