ROMANIA NABS WORLD’S BIGGEST FORGER OF POLYMER BANK NOTES

Romania has arrested what it described as the world’s best forger of plastic bank notes, with Christian Gherasim writing for Euronews on June 27, 2020 that the mastermind was able to fake 17,000 polymer 100 RON (€22) currency in a fraud worth around €350,000.

"The investigations have confirmed that, in a relatively short period of time, the leader of the group managed to produce the best counterfeits in Romanian history and became the largest counterfeiter of plastic banknotes in the world," said the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT.)

Investigators managed to identify a fingerprint on one of the fake banknotes which helped them track down the suspects. Three people, including the group leader, have been detained for questioning.

The fake banknotes were almost impossible to detect as they are made from synthetic polymer, which mimics the security features recognized by consumers. According to prosecutors the gang was extremely careful when making and distributing the counterfeit money, “witnesses were not able to give any information about the notes because no one realized they had been handed/ a fake." Romania is among 30 countries that use polymer-based banknotes. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Vietnam and, more recently Mexico, employ them too. The Bank of England also made the switch to polymer notes in 2016.