A $500 Million Check? More Please

The Associated Press has a story about about a man stopped trying to leave Italy with a $500 million check. It's not clear exactly what kind of check; the implication is that it's a cashier's check, or the Italian equivalent. And the other implication is that it's real. Says the Associated Press story:

The man sought to enter Switzerland earlier this week in a luxury car belonging to his company when he reached the Italian border station of Ponte Chiasso. He didn't declare the check, but it was discovered when guards conducted a routine search of the car. They did not say where they found the check.

Authorities arrested the man and set bail at $100 million. The traveler didn't have that much on him, so authorities confiscated the check instead.

The story came out yesterday, and I didn't post anything, hoping there'd be an update with more detail. But there's still none. So now I'm abjectly begging. Never has there been a story in which I was more eager to find out more. I mean, a $500 million check? From whom? To whom? For what? Does this involve Iraqi oil revenues? A Russian billionaire? Carl Icahn? The Yankees' Alex Rodriguez? Please tell.

(Updated: I've added a quote from the AP's story to my original post.)