The great train robbers may have wondered how to dispose of their 2.6m in used banknotes in 1963. If you had a lot of money and it was suddenly to explode and burn, what would you go and buy Alison Cottrell, UBS Warburg Anyone with ill-gotten gains stashed in suitcases across Europe now have other problems to face in the months ahead. If people don't swap their Deutschmarks or French francs into the new euro notes by early next year when the currency becomes legal tender, they will find their cash is worthless. For this reason, criminals, tax dodgers and many ordinary people across Europe could embark on a spending spree during the next few months.
Many elderly people store cash at home.
Some people, with or without regular jobs, seek to avoid tax by not declaring income. Others, who have earned money through criminal means, want to hide how they earned their money. It will have to come out some way. Spend, spend, spend Already, a housing boom in Spain has been, in part, attributed to the need to get rid of illicit or legally hoarded cash. UBS Warburg's Alison Cottrell asked.