Within Angola Hoaxes
How Forged Authority Created Real Banknotes
A forged colonial mandate persuaded a respected printer to produce genuine banknotes that had never been lawfully authorised.
On this page
- The false Angola development mandate
- How institutions trusted the paperwork
- Duplicate serial numbers and the collapse
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Introduction
The Alves Reis banknote fraud is one of the strangest financial deceptions in modern history because the forged element was not the money itself. The banknotes were real. They were printed by the Bank of Portugal’s legitimate security printer, using genuine plates, paper and designs. What was fake was the authority behind the order. In 1924–25, Portuguese fraudster Artur Alves Reis created a web of forged contracts, notarised documents and diplomatic certifications that convinced respected institutions that he had been granted a secret mandate connected to economic development in colonial Angola. The result was the production of enormous quantities of authentic Portuguese currency that had never been lawfully authorised.[bhsportugal.org]bhsportugal.orgalves reis and the portuguese bank note scandal of 1925In 1925 in London, the printing company Waterlow and Sons was persuaded to print Portuguese banknotes using the official plates it had.Re…
For a project examining famous deceptions linked to Angola, the case matters because Angola was not merely a backdrop. The supposed development of the colony was the central justification that made an extraordinary request appear plausible. Reis understood that colonial projects, confidential financing arrangements and official secrecy could be used to discourage scrutiny while still appearing legitimate.[alextrias.substack.com]alextrias.substack.comlessons from the portuguese financialCrisis of 1925Reis forged an incredibly elaborate contract claiming that the Central Bank of Portugal had authorized a secret syndicate t…
The False Angola Development Mandate
At the heart of the scheme was a fabricated contract claiming that a special financial arrangement had been approved for Angola. Reis and his associates forged documents suggesting that a consortium had been authorised to raise money for major development projects in the colony. In return, the arrangement supposedly allowed the issuance of a large quantity of Portuguese banknotes for use in connection with that programme.[substack.com]alextrias.substack.comlessons from the portuguese financialCrisis of 1925Reis forged an incredibly elaborate contract claiming that the Central Bank of Portugal had authorized a secret syndicate t…
The proposal was carefully designed to sound unusual but not impossible. Angola was a Portuguese colony undergoing economic development, and governments often financed infrastructure through special loans and concession agreements. Reis exploited this reality. The story he presented was not that he wanted money printed for private gain; it was that he was participating in a sensitive state-backed project whose details required discretion.[Wikipedia]WikipediaArtur Alves dos ReisArtur Alves dos Reis
The forged paperwork was remarkably elaborate. Contracts were translated, signatures imitated, notarial certifications obtained and consular validations secured. Some officials authenticated signatures or seals without verifying the underlying transaction itself. Each layer of apparent verification made the next institution more willing to trust the documents.[Wikipedia]WikipediaArtur Alves dos ReisArtur Alves dos Reis
A crucial part of the narrative was the claim that the notes would ultimately be connected to Angola rather than circulating in ordinary Portuguese commerce. This helped explain why exceptional procedures were supposedly necessary and why the operation had to remain confidential.[PMG Notes]pmgnotes.comthe portuguese bank note crisis of 1925PMG NotesThe Portuguese Bank Note Crisis of 192529 Jan 2019 — When issues regarding the request arose due to the printing of duplicate se…
How Institutions Trusted the Paperwork
The brilliance of the fraud lay in its understanding of bureaucracy. Reis did not bypass official systems. He manipulated them.
The British firm Waterlow & Sons already printed currency for the Bank of Portugal. Rather than producing crude counterfeits, Reis sought access to the legitimate printing process itself. Through intermediaries and forged correspondence, Waterlow was persuaded that it was dealing with an authorised operation backed by the Portuguese monetary authorities.[bhsportugal.org]bhsportugal.orgalves reis and the portuguese bank note scandal of 1925In 1925 in London, the printing company Waterlow and Sons was persuaded to print Portuguese banknotes using the official plates it had.Re…
Several factors worked in Reis’s favour:
- Institutional prestige: Waterlow was accustomed to handling confidential government work and therefore found secrecy believable.
- Layered authentication: Documents appeared to carry proper legal and diplomatic endorsements.
- Division of responsibility: Different organisations checked different parts of the story but rarely the entire chain.
- Colonial distance: Angola’s geographic separation from Lisbon made claims about special colonial arrangements harder to verify quickly.
- Plausible confidentiality: Political sensitivity was repeatedly invoked to explain irregular procedures.[Wikipedia]WikipediaArtur Alves dos ReisArtur Alves dos Reis
One revealing episode concerned serial numbers. Questions arose because some of the notes being ordered duplicated numbering already used on existing banknotes. Reis reportedly explained that the notes would later receive distinguishing marks or overprints before being used in Angola, easing concerns that otherwise might have exposed the fraud much earlier.[PMG Notes]pmgnotes.comthe portuguese bank note crisis of 1925PMG NotesThe Portuguese Bank Note Crisis of 192529 Jan 2019 — When issues regarding the request arose due to the printing of duplicate se…
The scheme therefore depended less on technical forgery than on forged authority. Waterlow produced exactly what it believed had been requested by a legitimate client. The printer’s expertise in security printing was never defeated; its trust in the paperwork was.[bhsportugal.org]bhsportugal.orgalves reis and the portuguese bank note scandal of 1925In 1925 in London, the printing company Waterlow and Sons was persuaded to print Portuguese banknotes using the official plates it had.Re…
Real Banknotes, Illegitimate Authority
The resulting notes were not counterfeits in the conventional sense. They were genuine 500-escudo notes featuring the same design, quality and production standards as officially issued currency. Because they came from the authorised printer, bankers and cash handlers had no obvious way to distinguish them from legitimate notes.[Portugal.com]portugal.comthe portuguese scandal that changed the country foreverthe portuguese scandal that changed the country forever
This distinction explains why the fraud became so dangerous. Most anti-counterfeiting measures are designed to detect fake paper, fake inks or fake printing. None of those clues existed here. The deception had occurred before production, at the authorisation stage. By obtaining genuine notes through fraudulent instructions, Reis effectively inserted unauthorised currency into the financial system while avoiding the weaknesses that usually expose counterfeit money.[bhsportugal.org]bhsportugal.orgOpen source on bhsportugal.org.
The scale was enormous. The illicitly obtained notes represented a substantial share of Portugal’s currency supply and were introduced into circulation through banking and investment activities rather than through obvious criminal channels. Reis even helped establish the Banco de Angola e Metrópole, giving the operation an appearance of financial legitimacy and creating a mechanism through which the notes could circulate.[bhsportugal.org]bhsportugal.orgalves reis and the portuguese bank note scandal of 1925In 1925 in London, the printing company Waterlow and Sons was persuaded to print Portuguese banknotes using the official plates it had.Re…
Duplicate Serial Numbers and the Collapse
The fraud survived because the notes looked authentic and because the institutions involved assumed that someone else had verified the authorisation. Eventually, however, the scheme encountered a problem that paperwork could not easily conceal: duplicate serial numbers.[PMG Notes]pmgnotes.comthe portuguese bank note crisis of 1925PMG NotesThe Portuguese Bank Note Crisis of 192529 Jan 2019 — When issues regarding the request arose due to the printing of duplicate se…
Investigators examining unusual banking activity began noticing circumstances that did not fit normal patterns. Suspicion grew around the rapid expansion of the Banco de Angola e Metrópole and the large quantities of high-value notes appearing in circulation. Journalists also started asking questions.[Wikipedia]WikipediaAlves dos ReisAlves dos Reis
The breakthrough came when matching serial numbers were found on supposedly separate banknotes. Since genuine notes should carry unique identifiers, duplicates pointed to a serious problem. Investigators eventually discovered the astonishing truth: both sets of notes had been printed by the legitimate printer. The difference was that one issue had been properly authorised and the other had been produced on the basis of forged documents.[wikipedia.org]WikipediaAlves dos ReisAlves dos Reis
Once the Bank of Portugal and Waterlow compared records, the deception unravelled rapidly. Public exposure followed, arrests were made, and the scandal became one of the most notorious financial frauds of the twentieth century.[LSE]lse.ac.ukOpen source on lse.ac.uk.
Why the Case Still Matters
The Alves Reis affair remains famous because it overturned common assumptions about forgery. The usual image of a banknote fraud involves criminals secretly imitating official currency. Reis pursued the opposite strategy: he obtained official currency by secretly imitating official authority.[Portugal.com]portugal.comthe portuguese scandal that changed the country foreverthe portuguese scandal that changed the country forever
For the Angola branch of this story, the key lesson is that colonial development served as the credibility engine of the deception. The supposed Angola mandate supplied a believable reason for secrecy, unusual procedures and exceptional financial arrangements. Without that narrative, the forged documents would have attracted far greater scrutiny.[substack.com]alextrias.substack.comlessons from the portuguese financialCrisis of 1925Reis forged an incredibly elaborate contract claiming that the Central Bank of Portugal had authorized a secret syndicate t…
The scandal is therefore not simply a tale of counterfeit money. It is a case study in how institutions can be deceived when every document appears authentic, every signature seems verified and every participant trusts that somebody else has checked the foundations. The forged authority behind the Angola development scheme succeeded precisely because it looked like legitimate authority.[bhsportugal.org]bhsportugal.orgOpen source on bhsportugal.org.
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Endnotes
1.
Source: bhsportugal.org
Title: alves reis and the portuguese bank note scandal of 1925
Link:https://www.bhsportugal.org/library/articles/alves-reis-and-the-portuguese-bank-note-scandal-of-1925
Source snippet
In 1925 in London, the printing company Waterlow and Sons was persuaded to print Portuguese banknotes using the official plates it had.Re...
2.
Source: alextrias.substack.com
Title: lessons from the portuguese financial
Link:https://alextrias.substack.com/p/lessons-from-the-portuguese-financial
Source snippet
Crisis of 1925Reis forged an incredibly elaborate contract claiming that the Central Bank of Portugal had authorized a secret syndicate t...
3.
Source: essential-business.pt
Title: Essential Business Artur Alves dos Reis
Link:https://www.essential-business.pt/2025/12/31/artur-alves-dos-reis-the-man-who-almost-broke-the-bank-of-portugal/
Source snippet
Essential BusinessArtur Alves dos Reis - the man who almost broke the Bank...31 Dec 2025 — Alves dos Reis set up a false contract in whi...
4.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Artur Alves dos Reis
Link:https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artur_Alves_dos_Reis
5.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Alves dos Reis
Link:https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alves_dos_Reis
6.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Alves dos Reis
Link:https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alves_dos_Reis
7.
Source: bhsportugal.org
Link:https://www.bhsportugal.org/uploads/fotos_artigos/files/AlvesReisBanknoteScandal.pdf
8.
Source: portugal.com
Title: the portuguese scandal that changed the country forever
Link:https://www.portugal.com/history-and-culture/the-portuguese-scandal-that-changed-the-country-forever/
9.
Source: lse.ac.uk
Link:https://www.lse.ac.uk/asset-library/information/wp8204.pdf
10.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Artur Virgílio Alves dos Reis
Link:https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artur_Virg%C3%ADlio_Alves_dos_Reis
11.
Source: Wikipedia
Title: Alves dos Reis
Link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alves_dos_Reis
12.
Source: pmgnotes.com
Title: the portuguese bank note crisis of 1925
Link:https://www.pmgnotes.com/news/article/7138/the-portuguese-bank-note-crisis-of-1925/
Source snippet
PMG NotesThe Portuguese Bank Note Crisis of 192529 Jan 2019 — When issues regarding the request arose due to the printing of duplicate se...
13.
Source: amusingplanet.com
Title: the portuguese bank note scandal of 1925
Link:https://www.amusingplanet.com/2023/08/the-portuguese-bank-note-scandal-of-1925.html
Additional References
14.
Source: isgeschiedenis.nl
Link:https://isgeschiedenis.nl/reportage/portugese-bankbiljetten-affaire-valsmunter-veroorzaakte-val-portugese-republiek
Source snippet
Hij had hun hulp nu nodig om met deze drukorder bij Waterlow...Read more...
15.
Source: reddit.com
Title: til in 1925 a forger convinced portugals money
Link:https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/14jscyo/til_in_1925_a_forger_convinced_portugals_money/
Source snippet
TIL in 1925, a forger convinced Portugal's money printer to...In 1925, at age 28, he wrote up a fake contract from Portugal's offi...
16.
Source: youtube.com
Title: The Man Who Found a Loophole to Print $3 Million in REAL Money
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66XFmNUwoLM
Source snippet
The Craziest Historical Event You've Never Heard Of...
17.
Source: youtube.com
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-B19fq7V5s
Source snippet
Man Prints $100 Million, Almost Buys Portugal's Central Bank...
18.
Source: thomasnumismatics.com
Link:https://thomasnumismatics.com/en/blog/alves-dos-reis/?srsltid=AfmBOooNhp816Y9Q4e5SHMnYvmY3iEedRaUfPAo-mp815dT9wHlmOgye
19.
Source: thomasnumismatics.com
Link:https://thomasnumismatics.com/en/blog/alves-dos-reis/?srsltid=AfmBOor3S5RounWmTc-qousLAd_XcaZmopMVxOtLiUPpX7PhWoDuZLMG
20.
Source: visitmylisbon.com
Link:https://visitmylisbon.com/alves-dos-reis-portuguese-swindler/
21.
Source: thomasnumismatics.com
Link:https://thomasnumismatics.com/en/blog/alves-dos-reis/?srsltid=AfmBOoo_-vjoIIb6wZHxWx_gcWc_8ONINfVVh8TRL3CP8BBuq2eyJSho
22.
Source: facebook.com
Link:https://www.facebook.com/stacks.bowers/posts/in-1925-a-con-man-named-alves-reis-nearly-crashed-portugals-entire-economy-with-/1359195849582179/
23.
Source: youtube.com
Title: How to Steal a Central Bank
Link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9P-pYGu_ws
Source snippet
The Man Who Found a Loophole to Print $3 Million in REAL Money...
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