The Spanish government is reported to be studying ways to encourage people to declare money made in the black economy, principally in the Spanish real estate sector. The main objective is to get Spaniards to deposit their 500-Euro notes, known colloquially in Spain as ‘Bin Ladens’ and the favourite currency of tax frauds in the property sector, into bank accounts.

There are thought to be more than 100 million ‘Bin Ladens’ hidden under mattresses in Spain, which, if deposited into bank accounts, would provide cash-starved banks with a tidy little liquidity injection of more than 50 billion Euros. Flushing out the ‘Bin Ladens’ would help the Spanish economy alleviate the effects of the credit crunch.

Detractors of the idea argue that it will amount to an amnesty for people who made money in fradulent ways.