A record number of fake euro banknotes were seized by authorities in the first half of this year, the European Central Bank said today, with €20 notes remaining the forgers' favourite.
The ECB said the 413,000 counterfeit banknotes detected in the first six months of 2009 represented a 17 per cent rise, although cash in circulation had also swelled steadily since euro notes and coins were introduced in 2002.
There were about 12.5 million banknotes in circulation, the central bank said. As in the previous six months, €20 notes were the most commonly forged, having knocked €50 notes out of the top spot last year.
Twenty euro notes made up 48.5 per cent of counterfeits and €50 notes made up 34 per cent.
The ECB said no new sources of counterfeit notes were discovered in the first half of 2009.
Reuters