Today the finest counterfeit banknotes are claimed to be U.S. dollar
bills produced in North Korea, which are used to finance the North Korean
government, among other uses. The fake North Korean copies are called
Superdollars because of their high quality. Bulgaria and Colombia are
also significant sources of counterfeit currency. Recently, on May 23rd,
2007, the Swiss government has raised some doubt as to the ability of
North Korea to produce the "Superdollars".
There has been a rapid growth in the counterfeiting of Euro banknotes
and coins since the launch of the currency in 2002. In 2003, 551,287
fake euro notes and 26,191 bogus euro coins were removed from EU circulation.
In 2004, French police seized fake 10 euro and 20 euro notes worth a
total of around €1.8 million from two laboratories and estimated that
145,000 notes had already entered circulation.
In the early years of the 21st century, the United States Secret Service
has noted a substantial reduction in the quantity of forged U.S. currency,
as counterfeiters turn their attention towards the Euro.
In 2006, a Pakistani government printing press in the city of Quetta
was accused of churning out large quantities of counterfeit Indian currency,
The Times of India reported based on Central Bureau of Intelligence investigation.
The rupee notes are then smuggled into India as 'part of Pakistan's agenda
of destabilising (the) Indian economy through fake currency,' the daily
said. The notes are 'supplied by the Pakistan government press (at Quetta)
free of cost to Dubai-based counterfeiters who, in turn, smuggle it into
India using various