Counterfeiters Prefer 500 Kuna Banknotes

In Croatia, a total of 1,309 counterfeit banknotes were registered during 2012.

The largest number, 861 pieces, relates to counterfeit euro banknotes, followed by 315 counterfeit kuna banknotes and 109 counterfeit US dollar banknotes, as reported by the Croatian National Bank on its website.

Last year’s 315 pieces of counterfeit kuna banknotes represent a decrease of 29.1 percent compared to the number of counterfeit kuna banknotes registered in 2011.

The total nominal ‘value’ of registered counterfeit kuna banknotes last year amounted to 114,480 kuna, and in the total number of registered counterfeit banknotes, kuna counterfeits account for 24.1 percent.

The most commonly counterfeited denomination of the domestic currency was the 500 kuna banknote, with 122 registered counterfeit kuna banknotes or 38.7 percent.

Considering that during 2012, an average of 161.4 million kuna banknotes were in circulation, it follows that for every million original banknotes in circulation, two pieces of counterfeit kuna banknotes were recorded. From January to December 2012, a total of 861 counterfeit euro banknotes were registered, which is an increase of 29.7 percent compared to the number of counterfeit euros recorded in 2011.

In the same period, 109 pieces of counterfeit US dollar banknotes were registered, which is a decrease of almost three times compared to the dollar counterfeits recorded in 2011. The remaining 24 counterfeits are counterfeit banknotes of the Australian dollar, convertible mark, Swiss franc, Czech koruna, German mark, and British pound.

Of the total 1,309 counterfeit banknotes, 869 pieces or 66.3 percent are counterfeits printed using printing techniques (offset and intaglio), while 340 pieces (26 percent) are counterfeit banknotes printed with ink. Additionally, 17 pieces of counterfeits were printed with ink or toner or a combination of these two techniques, and 81 were printed solely with toner.

The Croatian National Bank notes that the reproduction techniques P (printing) and C (ink/toner printing) always refer to common classes of counterfeit banknotes, which implies larger quantities produced and good, very good, or dangerous quality of production, while other reproduction techniques refer to national classes of counterfeit banknotes produced in smaller quantities and of poor or mediocre quality.

Of the total 861 registered counterfeit euro banknotes, 755 (or 87.7 percent) were rated as good or very good in terms of production quality, which means that recognizing such counterfeits is difficult, especially for the public. Counterfeit kuna banknotes, on the other hand, were produced in poor quality in 98.4 percent of cases, which should not cause confusion among the public.

Considering the fact that examinations of counterfeit banknotes have determined that counterfeiters often imitate individual security features such as security threads, watermarks, holograms, and optically variable colors, the Croatian National Bank urges citizens to exercise increased caution, and institutions and companies dealing with cash to apply the decisions of the Croatian National Bank regarding the conditions for processing and redistributing banknotes.