Schwend was given two objectives: to exchange the counterfeit money for genuine Swiss francs or US dollars, and to assist with the funding of special operations, including buying black market arms from the Yugoslav Partisans then selling them to pro-Nazi groups in Southeast Europe. He also arranged for the counterfeit notes to pay the Turkish agent Elyesa Bazna—code named Cicero—for his work in obtaining secrets from the British ambassador in Ankara. Counterfeit notes with a face value of £100,000 were used to obtain information that helped to free the Italian leader Benito Mussolini in the Gran Sasso raid in September 1943.