COPY
No. 7/1941/46
(4).
Dear Radford,
COLONIAL SECRETARIAT
Lower Albert Road
Hong Kong
22nd April, 1949
17
Orig.on 19261/65/55/49
With reference to your letter No. 19261/63/33/49 of 23rd March regarding notes to the value of $4,012,319.70 found in the Yokohama Specie Bank, it was at one time believed that this money formed part of the cash balance of the bank, but later it was established that it was merely held by the Yokohama Specie Bank in safe custody for the Japanese Government.
8
The notes were paid into the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank who gave Government credit for them. This credit was subsequently transferred to the name of the Custodian of Property, and in his savingram No.311 of 25th April, 1947, the Secretary of State decided that these funds should be blocked by the Custodian,
No sterling cover is necessary, as this must have been put up when the notes were originally issued. They were never withdrawn from circulation and it was immaterial whether they were kept by the Japanese in a bank vault or by some member of the public in some private hiding place. It does not therefore seem to have been necessary for the War Office to place any sterling sum in suspense, and there would not appear to be any objection to the entries being reversed as they suggest. There can, however, be no question of Hong Kong putting up any cover.
Yours sincerely,
(sgd)
R.E. Radford, Esq.,
The Church House
Great Smith Street LONDON S.W.1,