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A century ago, many central banks across the world were owned privately. Then came along a Portuguese man called Alves Reis, who tried to buy the Bank of Portugal with fraudulent currency, hoping to legitimize his fraud after acquiring a controlling stake. His plan almost worked... until he was discovered, crashing the Portuguese economy and ushering in 50 years of dictatorship. Oops.

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Further Reading:

“Devouring the Heart of Portugal” by Alan Bellows - https://www.damninteresting.co....m/devouring-the-hear
“The Portuguese Banknote Case” by Nigel Armstrong-Flemming - https://www.bhsportugal.org/up....loads/fotos_artigos/