This unexpected episode has nothing to do with shorting, but it is closely related to Union Bank. It's funny to say, this is another stubble that Eleanor found for Contini, after being discharged from the hospital, she repeatedly thought about Roosevelt's car accident, and her intuition made her feel wrong, because on the way to the hospital, they often drove and rarely encountered heavy-duty trucks, why did they have one that day? But in other respects, she could only use the identity of Italian descent and the influence of the Roosevelt family to hype up, and even she did not dare to focus her suspicions directly on the United Group, only dared to find trouble with the New York gangsters first and then tried to touch the vine, but then she was quelled by a word from Contini, who himself visited her and visited Roosevelt's grave, and from the expression of her grief, it did not seem to be a fake.

Therefore, even if Eleanor felt foggy, she did not dare to suspect that Contini was behind the scenes, and only speculated that a certain executive of the United Group might have done something, although her husband said that the entire economic system of the United Group was a scam, but they did not have a direct or indirect conflict, and she did not think that Contini would know all this, and if she did not know, she could not talk about the motive for the crime.

The only thing she didn't understand was that Contini was a traverser, who knew Roosevelt much more than she knew, and as soon as she found out that Roosevelt was trying to access the archives and documents of the United Group, she immediately made up her mind not to drag her feet in the slightest. But Eleanor was no ordinary housewife, she persisted for a long time, thinking that since it would not work from the perspective of Italian descent, she should work hard to analyze the scam itself, and she should deeply understand the scam of the United Group from an economic point of view.

She had dealt with New York Fed President Strong, and when the two met occasionally at a charity gala some time ago, because Strong suddenly complained about Contini's "gibberish", Eleanor asked a question: Why is cargo often delivered to Italian warships? I've never heard of the president making a big purchase.

This aroused Strong's suspicions, he vaguely knew that the Union Bank had bought a batch of gold, and immediately after returning to the Federal Reserve, he conducted an investigation within the Federal Reserve, and he was shocked when he saw it, from last year to this year, about 10 months, about 800 million to 900 million US dollars of gold entered the Union Bank as a reserve, which is much higher than any other bank, and also exceeds normal demand. After a heated debate within the Fed, they finally reached a consensus and sent a formal confirmation letter to the Union Bank, asking them what was going on?

The confirmation was sent on August 28, and Francisco knew that he could not hide it, and after reporting to Contini, he resorted to delaying the investigation and delaying it until the final response period of September 1 to formally report to the Federal Reserve, the content of which was simple: first, the Union Bank did exchange so much gold, partly because of customer entrustment, and partly because of Union Bank's own needs; Second, it is inconvenient to disclose the customer's entrustment based on commercial secrets for the time being, but the purpose of the UnionBank's gold exchange is clear, to consolidate the bank's strength, and at the same time to support the Italian lira gold standard system, which is after all the largest bank in Italy, and is responsible for the safety and stability of the Italian financial system. In order to effectively respond to the last foreign exchange crisis in Italy, Union Bank needs to start preparing in advance.

The Fed felt bad, and the day after receiving the reply, it sent someone to ask where the gold was currently going, and Francisco smiled: "Since it is to support the lira, it will be shipped back to Italy, and the customer's gold will also be shipped away, no, this is the relevant documents and customs clearance certificates...... Some of them are freighters from Union Shipping, and some of them are from the Royal Italian Navy, which has security capabilities. ”

At this stage, the United States does not restrict gold exports, and gold can be transferred as long as it is reported under the gold standard system, and at the same time, due to the prosperity of the past few years, gold is concentrated in the United States, making the US government and the Federal Reserve more laissez-faire for gold transfers. The Fed bureaucrats inspected the Bank vaults with the last chance of luck, only to find them empty, less than 1 million worth of gold, completely empty enough to run off the horses.

The Fed was furious and demanded that the Union Bank bring back the transferred gold, and Francisco said that he would not obey his orders: this is a legal and reasonable operation, why should he listen to the Fed's orders?

Several Fed officials immediately telegraphed Contini, who was still in Boston, with a tactful question, but the president's reply was domineering: "What law did the Union Bank gold affairs violate?" If not, I suspect that you are abusing your public power to retaliate against me and the United Group, and I will call the best lawyers to fight the lawsuit, and some fools should get out of their current positions! ”

This is the second time that the president has scolded Fed officials for being stupid, and the first time he just told reporters that the Fed pretended to be deaf and dumb, and this time the word "stupid fork" actually appeared on the telegram - although it was not an official document, it was enough to make people break down with anger.

Annoyed and angry, the Fed wanted to give Contini a little color, so it had to sacrifice its powers and prepare to conduct a review of the accounts of the Union Bank, hoping to find out what was wrong with it, and then use administrative means to force the Union Bank to relent.

Of course, the inspection is the authority of the Federal Reserve, and Francisco can only cooperate, and cooperation is cooperation, and he really couldn't understand Contini's reply, and when Contini returned to New York, he said in a complaining tone: "Your answer is a bit rude and irritates their nerves." ”

"I did it on purpose!" "It's to provoke their anger." ”

Francisco was stunned, and then persuaded: "Although the Fed has their problems, but this is not Italy after all, and we have to follow the rules of the United States in some things, I am afraid that ......"

Contini nodded: "I know what you're trying to say, but it's not enough, will we obey the Fed's expectations to move the gold back?" Don't even think about it! ”

"Then they're going to check it tomorrow...... I'm afraid. ”

"Let them check, this is not a powerful tipping point." Contini smiled, "In my judgment, the stock market crash is imminent." ”

On September 3, the stock market roared above 450 points – a point that will be the highest point in the future, and the day before the Fed was ready to check its accounts on the spot, Contini made up his mind that he was ready to do it!

"Call all of our top executives in New York, and bring in Enzo and Gian......"

At 10 o'clock in the evening of September 3, the headquarters building of the Union Bank was brightly lit, and Contini held an on-site meeting, and there was no discussion and consultation, only his cold orders one after another:

First, all United Shipping cargo ships and passenger ships in the United States should immediately prepare to leave the United States to prevent them from being seized by the United States.

Second, the fleet was ready to concentrate on New York Harbor and complete all preparations for escape;

Third, Enzo and Gian were responsible for keeping on guard, all heavy equipment was issued, and the guards were ready to fire if necessary;

Fourth, the exchange of US dollar cash, only in and out, handed over to the Blackwater security guards;

Fifth, on duty 24 hours a day, using the special password of the United Group, establishing direct contact between the Union Bank and the fleet through the radio, and no longer using the American civil communications system;

Sixth, the United Bank will continue to operate as usual, cooperate with the work of the Federal Reserve, and do not conceal or transfer, but can give employees holidays, extend the verification time of the other party, and strive for the initiative.

Francisco was shocked and exclaimed, "Calais...... Total...... President, you ...... What are you...... Is this going to be robbed? ”

"You're right, I'm here to rob!" Contini said angrily, "I am going to use legal means to rob Wall Street, and in order to prevent people from jumping off the wall, I must also be fully prepared!" ”

On September 4, the Federal Reserve and the Fed inspection team entered the Union Bank, and they thought they would encounter difficulties, but they were met by a blank Francisco: "Whatever you want to see, what you want to check, just please!" I will answer within my mandate, and I have the right to remain silent. ”

Contini watched the actions of the Fed's verification team, and at the same time stepped up his order to Livermore to open a position, and by September 8, the United Trust had established a short position of $3.2 billion, with a floating loss of $200 million, but no one cared.

The Fed inspectors were chilled as they went about their work, because they saw too many joint guards — there were nearly 300 armed men at the headquarters of a single U.S. branch, and they had seen heavy machine guns and armored vehicles, which were completely beyond the equipment of ordinary banks — and the Fed's vaults were not guarded by so many people. What surprised them even more was the indifference and murderous aura when the other party looked at them, which was completely chilling, they worked under the guns with trepidation, and finally there were no guards to come, and the interrogation of personnel and access to files were very smooth.

The Fed inspection team only conducted a cursory 4-day conclusion and came to a conclusion no less than a magnitude 10 earthquake: the Union Bank's capital flow was wrong! Since two months ago, the Union Bank has stopped lending to domestic enterprises and individuals in the United States, canceled all discounts, successively converted the bills it holds into cash, and even borrowed huge amounts of money from the domestic banking system through the active issuance of bills, in short, the Union Bank has absorbed nearly $2 billion in savings with itself as the main body, and at the same time has borrowed from the banking system, totaling up to 1.2 billion, and discounted 800 million to the Federal Reserve System. A full $4 billion in cash positions is on Union Bank's books, but where do those positions go? In addition to the purchase of more than 500 million US dollars in shares, all of them were issued to companies in 14 European countries! Italian and Swiss companies dominate the list.

In fact, these 14 enterprises are all shadow companies controlled by the United Group, and then these shadow companies are dispersed through various banking systems, some of which flow back to the United Trust in the United States as a margin for shorting, and some of them directly enter the Italian headquarters of the Union Bank.