Forgers thrive on hi-tech
Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank, has no idea how many fake notes are circulating in the market much to the chagrin of innocent people who very often fall victim to such fraudulence.
“The menace is on the rise with the use of modern technology,” said a Bangladesh Bank (BB) currency officer who is responsible for verifying fake notes.
“I received six or seven cases yesterday,” said the currency officer, adding that note forgers convert Tk 100 note into a Tk 500 one easily.
Fake notes of Tk 500 are already in the market, which is the same size as a Tk 100 note. Forgers whiten Tk 100 notes using chemical substances and through a scanner they put a Tk 500 note on to it. After the notes are printed they are photocopied.
BB data shows that it has recorded nearly 4,000 cases of forged notes. The central bank's eight regional offices file around 50 cases of fake notes a month on average.
Fake notes continue to flood the markets, as it is a lucrative business. Even the provision of death sentence has failed to reduce the number of the counterfeit notes.
“The number of cases detected would be much higher if the banks filed cases regularly,” a senior BB official said.
A cashier at an old branch of the state-owned Sonali Bank in the capital said: “We are afraid of filing cases as we have to spend both money and time and face police hassles for filing a case.”
“I had to go to a court several times as a witness in a case filed in 2005,” said the cashier who has not filed any case since then.
A speedy trial was set up to deal with the cases of fake notes nearly three years ago and some 40 cases were referred to that court. Most of these cases were resolved and the criminals were sentenced 7 to 10 years imprisonment, according to the BB's currency management department.
But unfortunately, no cases have been referred to the speedy trial court for the past year, officials said.
A central committee headed by an executive director of BB is working to create anti-forgery awareness among people and the government agencies.
However, the central bank with its limited strength is unable to hold countrywide anti-forgery awareness meetings, said a BB official.
Bangladesh and India often blame each other for the production of counterfeit notes but are beginning to share experiences on the issue.
An economist said that counterfeit money has highly negative impacts both on the economy and society.
“Crime and smuggling are likely to increase,” said Zaid Bakht, research director of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, adding that it also fuels inflationary pressure apart from putting the currency transaction cost higher.
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