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Significant plot hole toward the end (spoiler)

posted 11 years ago by kmay144
4 replies | jump to latest

When Muir calls his British finance rep during the night (EST) and requests the $282,000.00 be liquidated and transferred to Duncan's Grand Cayman account, the transfer is completed and then disappears in a matter of hours, as Duncan immediately paid the Chinese official to generate the prison blackout.

I know it's a movie, but there is no way a liquidation and transfer could be completed together in a matter of hours, especially for an international account. Even today with the technological advancements in banking, most liquidations and transfers I've heard of take from 3-5 business days minimum to complete. Anyone else catch that?

[–] simondclinch-1 11 years ago

In regard to transaction times, it isn't possible for joe blow to wire money that fast. But Muir had a financial contact in London do it - financial companies can wire internationally in seconds using SWIFT.

In regard to how much life savings - he could have had 28000 or 2.8 mil total - there is no way of assessing that from the information given. Just one hint was provided: He told Bishop back in Berlin to always have a nest egg offshore.

[–] ssttyyllee 10 years ago

minimum 8 hours to up to 48 hours depending on time zone and business hours. Also T-billd, stocks and bonds/treasuries take days to settle once sold.

[–] simondclinch-1 10 years ago

Even so, this does not theoretically limit the wiring of funds - the settlement delay could be alternatively covered by margin held on account that became available for immediate refund once the deals were done. It would only be a problem if there were no other assets or funds held with the broker. There is also no statement that the deal exhausted all such holdings.

[–] Adams5905 10 years ago

No they don't. There is an active 'grey' OTC (Over The Counter) market open 24/7 in all government securities, muni bonds and major equities. He would have taken a 'haircut' (discount) on the spreads offered, but this was a fire sale. Also, London and New York have a reciprocally fungible agreement that allows Sterling accounts to be held in NY, and USD accounts to be held in London (technically all other currencies' accounts are held in the country of origin, even if the account appears to be held abroad-it's a shadow account. This agreement means that even in London, all his securities could have been liquidated within seconds, and the USD funds wired direct to Grand Cayman-hence his liquidity.

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe...