Finance

Demonetisation led to highest fake currency, suspicious transactions, reveals report

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A new Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) report has found that the country’s banks not only received an all-time high amount of fake currency in 2016-17, but also detected an over 480 per cent jump in suspicious transactions post demonetization, the PTI reported.

The banks, including those in the private, public and cooperative sectors, and other financial institutions collectively generated 400 per cent more suspicious transaction reports (STRs) at over 4.73 lakh such dossiers during 2016-17, the report said.

“A noteworthy growth was also seen in the number of counterfeit currency reports (CCRs) which increased from more than 4.10 lakh in 2015-16 to over 7.33 lakh in 2016-17, which may also be attributed to the demonetisation exercise,” said the FIU report, but it did not specify the value of such fake currencies detected.

That’s an increase of over 3.22 lakh such cases in banking and other economic channels in just a year. CCRs are “transaction based reports” and they are generated only when a fake Indian currency note (FICN) is detected or where any forgery of a valuable security or a document has taken place during a cash transaction at a bank.

The report accessed by the PTI said, had a link to the demonetisation of two high value currencies, Rs 1000 and Rs 500, declared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the night of 8 November, 2016.

 

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