Counterfeit Euro Notes Rose 26% in Six Months to June, ECB Says
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The European Central Bank withdrew 317,000 counterfeit euro bank notes from circulation in the first half of 2013, an increase of 26.3 percent from the same period last year.
The region’s 20-euro ($2.63) and 50-euro notes were the most counterfeited, accounting for 82.1 percent of the total, the bank said in an e-mailed statement today. Forged 100-euro notes accounted for 12.4 percent of the total. About 98.5 percent of the fake currency was found in euro-area countries.