REPORTERNET.COM

More counterfeit euro banknotes circulate in Cyprus today than in the past, however the situation does not appear to be “worrying”, Head of the National Analysis Centre for Counterfeiting Euro banknotes and coins Christakis Antoniou has said.

The National Centre operates under the umbrella of the Forensic Services of the Cyprus Police and it was founded in 2004, after the accession of Cyprus to the European Union.

When Cyprus entered the Eurozone in 2008 and adopted the euro as its national currency, the Centre played a very significant role in training police officers, bank employees, customs officials and other officers in recognizing fake euro banknotes.

According to European Central Bank statistics, the second half of 2010, a total of 364,000 fake euro banknotes were discovered in the European market, recording a decrease of 5.9% compared with the previous six years.

The biggest number of counterfeit banknotes was located the second half of 2009 and it amounted to 447,000.

More specifically, in the second half of 2010 there was an increase of 43,5 % in the circulation of fake 50 euro banknotes and an increase of 38% in the circulation of fake 20 euro banknotes.

Regarding Cyprus, Antoniou told CNA that in the period between 2004-2008 a total of 200-250 fake banknotes were located annually. Since 2008 and Cyprus’ accession to the Eurozone, this number has more than doubled and authorities located 600 fake banknotes every year. In 2010 this increased to 2,217 mainly because of two huge cases of counterfeit fraud.

The total value of these fake banknotes was 100,970 euro whereas the total value for 2009 was 42,000. For 2011 a total of 656 fake banknotes were located in Cyprus, most of which were 50 and 20 euro banknotes.

“This has been the case in the previous years for the rest of the EU member states and the reason is that 20 and 50 euro notes are more commonly used in our every day transactions whereas the notes of bigger value are rarely used.

When a customer hands over a 200 or 500 euro note, the bank cashier or any salesperson is more suspicious and checks for its authenticity”, Antoniou explained.

He said that among EU countries, France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands have the largest problem of counterfeited banknotes and coins.

Referring to coins, Antoniou underlined that Cyprus is the only European country which has not had any cases with fake coins.

The Balkan states and Turkey are believed to be the number one countries where fake euro banknotes are printed.

He also added that all the fake notes located in the Cyprus market come from abroad, noting that “so far no illegal printing premises have been discovered in Cyprus and this indicates that the fake banknotes enter the country from abroad”.

Antoniou said that in the past there have been several reported cases of counterfeit banknotes and coins from the island’s northern Turkish occupied areas, via the several crossing points operating along the ceasefire line (the line dividing the northern Turkish occupied areas from the southern government controlled part of the country).

He also said that in the past the European Union has asked Turkey to withdraw some of its national coins because they appeared to be similar with the euro coins and there was a massive confusion in the market.

Antoniou explained that when a suspicious banknote is located in the market, it is delivered to the National Centre Laboratory where a detailed examination takes place, using specialized equipment.

“When we establish that a banknote is counterfeit, we then classify it in specialized common European categories and we notify the European Central Bank.

This helps the Bank to assort the banknotes and be able to know at any time where the banknote comes from and then locate the original source from where it was circulated to the European market”, Antoniou explained.

He said that the procedure is not particularly complicated, however it is time consuming, because of the technical analysis that is taking place for the classification of the banknotes.

The National Analysis Centre for Counterfeiting Euro banknotes and coins has established close cooperation with the Central Bank of Cyprus, the European Central Bank, Interpol, Europol and the European Anti-Fraud Office.

According to Head of the Centre, there is continuous training of the staff, who often participate in seminars and workshops abroad.

“The EU has adopted the ‘Pericles’ program in 2001, establishing an exchange, assistance and training programs for the protection of the euro against counterfeiting”, Antoniou said, adding that each year the EU is funding the program with one million euro.

Antoniou noted that so far, there has not been a single case of counterfeit coins in Cyprus, adding that Germany faces the biggest problem among the Eurozone members. Each year a total of 180 000 fake coins are located in the European market among which 80 000 are located in Germany.

As of January 1, 2012, all member states are obliged to introduce new “authenticity machines” in all banks and credit institutions in order to check the authenticity of all coins circulated in the market.

(source: Famagusta Gazette)