CBN discovers N365m counterfeit naira notes in five years
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Counterfeit notes worth N365.24 million were discovered and seized by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) between 2016 and 2020, collated from the annual report for each year published on its website.
The figures break down as follows:
- 2016 – N51.45 million
- 2017 – N93.43 million
- 2018 – N98.82 million
- 2019 – N64.71 million
- 2020 – N56.83 million
“To maintain the integrity of the banknotes in circulation, the Department, in collaboration with DMBs, Bankers Warehouse Pls and security agencies, continued to intensify its efforts at mitigating the incidences of counterfeiting during the period under review,” the report said, per The PUNCH.
“A total of 119,663 pieces of counterfeit notes with a nominal value of N98.82m was recorded in 2018.
“This indicated a decline of 1.30 per cent in volume terms and an increase of 5.77 per cent in value terms when compared with 118,126 pieces with a nominal value of N93.43m recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.”
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Integrity of banknotes
“To maintain the integrity of the banknotes in circulation, the Bank, in collaboration with Security Agencies, sustained efforts at combating counterfeiting activities in 2020,” the report added, according to The PUNCH.
“A total of 67,265 pieces of counterfeit notes with a nominal value of N56.83 million was recorded in 2020. This was 20.80 per cent in volume and 12.18 per cent value, lower than 84,934 pieces and N64.71 million in 2019.”
The CBN says N1,000 and N500 notes have been the most counterfeited over the years, and threatened in a circular in January 2019 to fine banks for paying fake notes through their automated teller machines (ATMs).
It warned a bank found guilty would be fined N1 million per branch.