Kuna banknote counterfeiting accounts for a quarter of fake banknotes
The kuna banknote counterfeits accounted for 24.5% of all counterfeit banknotes registered last year.
The most frequently counterfeited domestic currency denomination was the 200 kuna banknote, which accounted for 98 registered counterfeit kuna banknotes, or 49.5% of the total registered kuna banknote counterfeits.
Among the 807 counterfeit banknotes of all currencies withdrawn from circulation, counterfeit US dollar banknotes accounted for 42.9%, followed by counterfeit euro banknotes (28.3%), counterfeit Swiss franc banknotes (2.4%), and counterfeit pound sterling banknotes (1.7%).
Last year, 228 counterfeit euro banknotes were withdrawn from circulation, which is a decrease of 3.8% from 2020. 50 euro banknotes accounted for the largest number of counterfeit euro banknotes withdrawn from circulation, with a share of 38.6% in the total number of registered counterfeit euro banknotes.
8,075 counterfeit coins withdrawn from circulation in 2021
A total of 8,075 counterfeit coins were also withdrawn from circulation in 2021, including one counterfeit 5 kuna coin and 8,074 counterfeit euro coins. Compared to 2020, when 817 counterfeit euro coins were withdrawn from circulation, the number of counterfeit euro coins increased by 888.3%.
The increase in the number of counterfeit euro coins withdrawn from circulation was the result of the central bank’s adjusting banknote and coin processing machines and training as part of the National Training Programme.
The HNB said that the counterfeits registered last year did not cause any significant financial damage, nor did their quantity and production quality cause any disturbances in cash operations in specialised institutions or among the general public.
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