500-Euro Note Draws Scrutiny of European Finance Ministers
- Large notes and cash amounts can be used to finance terrorism
- Bank of England stopped distributing large notes in 2010
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European Union finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Friday took aim at large-denomination bank notes as a way to curb terrorism financing and asked the EU’s executive arm to address the issue with the European Central Bank.
“There are risks that large notes and large cash amounts will be used and can be easily used for terrorist financing,” Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters before a gathering with his EU counterparts. “We also asked the commission to engage with the ECB to consider possible measures regarding high-denomination notes, particularly the 500 euro,” he said at the conclusion of the meeting.