€66m in forged currency seized in international op

In a major international operation, law enforcement has cracked down on the trade in counterfeit currency through postal services, resulting in the seizure of fake banknotes and coins worth an estimated €66m (around $77m).

Forged euros, dollars and UK pounds were intercepted by officers in the enforcement campaign, which was led by Austria, Portugal and Spain and supported by other countries as well as European crime agencies Europol and OLAF. More than 100 separate investigations into criminal networks involved in currency counterfeiting have been triggered as a result.

Most of the networks operate from outside the EU, mainly from Asia, but also from America and the Middle East, according to Europol, which notes this is the second phase of Operation DECOY, which started last year.

All told, 297 parcels containing counterfeit currency were seized, including more than 990,000 fake notes and coins. One remarkable success came from Romania, where a single coordinated action by national authorities resulted in the seizure of $600,000 in counterfeit currency.

The vast majority of the seized items were altered-design banknotes, often referred to as ‘movie money’. These reproductions have a similar shape and colour to real banknotes, but include a small disclaimer indicating they are fake. However, these disclaimers are often overlooked, allowing criminals to pass them off as genuine currency.

The number of notes intercepted in the operation is significant, given that around 467,000 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation in the whole of 2023, a nearly 25 per cent increase on the prior year, but still one of the lowest levels ever in proportion to total banknotes in circulation, according to European Central Bank (ECB) figures.