A surge in counterfeit currency

With Eid in the offing, counterfeit note syndicates have become active again. Over the last few weeks, law enforcers have busted the dens of a number of racketeers who have been dealing in fake notes for a long time. The latest in this line, a Rab haul of Tk 10 million fake notes, is indeed disquieting as it manifests the extent to which this illicit trade has proliferated in the country. Also, some recent arrests made in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet show that fraudsters have spread their tentacles nationwide, making it even more challenging for the police to bring them to book. 

It is true that digital recourse has made the job of the counterfeiters easy, as they can use a scanner and a computer to produce fake notes that can be passed off as legal tenders before the naked eye. To make matters even more grievous, most of the bank branches in the country are not adequately equipped with machines to detect fake notes. During the Eid rush, it is difficult for bank officials to count all the notes they receive by hand, which makes it easy for the forged notes to enter into the supply chain. 

The law enforcers need to apprehend the manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of fake notes to stamp out the counterfeiting business. Instead of limiting their operations against the counterfeiters only on the eve of Eid, they should work all year round.