Can You See Me?
A resident of the Russian city of Novosibirsk wrapped herself in linoleum and put a bucket on her head to hide from the debt collectors coming to inspect her flat, "Siberian news" reported.
The police officers turned out to have a good sense of humor and even praised the woman for her inventiveness. Nevertheless, it did not prevent them from fining the woman and giving her one last warning about her duty to repay the debt within 10 days.
US Citizen? Not Any More!
Another awkward story occurred in the United States back in 1986 and involved commodities trader Larry Williams. Larry hated paying his taxes and was ready to make every effort to find a way out of doing so. After consulting a couple of his lawyer-friends, Larry decided to declare himself a sovereign citizen of the state of California, as he was told that by opting out of the US citizenship he wouldn't have to pay taxes any more.
But secrets never live long and at the end Larry was arrested. He was taken to a court hearing where he agreed to pay the $600,000 in taxes and interest he owed from all those years of not paying.
Want to Hide Money? Eat It!
Another story took place in the Dominican Republic when a woman tried to pass customs officials with 55,000 euros in her stomach.
Her attempt failed and the 40-year-old was arrested. According to reports, the money had been hidden in 16 capsules in her stomach. In addition, officials discovered $69,000 in cash that she had hidden in her suitcase. The money was most likely related to the illegal drug trade.
Money in Boxes
This story occurred in 2008 in Japan. Two sisters aged 64 and 55 didn't want to pay taxes and therefore kept about 37 million euros cash hidden in cardboard boxes. The women inherited the money from their father, a real estate agent who died three years ago.
The boxes were confiscated and the women subsequently arrested, German newspaper Augsburger-Allgemeine reported.
'Donation for the Nuns'
One of the most recent attempts to hide the money and avoid debt payments was registered in Argentina, when a former government official was arrested while he was trying to throw six plastic bags full of money over the wall of a convent.
The man who was identified as former Secretary of Public Employment, José Lopez, wanted to hide bags with about seven million dollars on the premises of the convent, but failed as a neighbor had seen him and called the police.
The man was trying to justify his actions by saying he wanted to donate the money to the nuns. Bad luck! No one believed him and he was taken into custody.
'Golden' Shower
An unusual incident took place in Germany's state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern when passers-by discovered 200,000 euros in… a tree!
The local police said that passers-by first noticed 50 euro bills lying on the ground. At the top of the tree they then discovered a bag from which the bills had fallen out.
The bag was recovered from the tree by firemen. According to reports, a man was supposedly hiding the money there from his wife.
