€9m forgery ring is smashed

POLICE have broken up the largest cash counterfeit ring in France - said to be responsible for printing €9 million in fake €20 and €50 notes.

They raided a villa in a village to the east of Paris and, after bringing in a surveyor to discover why the outside and inside did not look the same, broke down a false wall to find a workshop complete with printing press, printing plates, computers and laser printers.

Police from the specialist forgery squad Office Central pour la Répression du Faux Monnayage said they regularly broke up counterfeiting rings - about 40 a year in France - but it was rare to catch everyone involved plus all the tools for making the money.

This was the largest ever in France and the second largest in Europe and responsible, they thought, for printing 350,000 fake notes which had been distributed widely in France and in parts of Europe.

Police have been working on the case since the notes - which carry the numbers EUA-0020C00045 and EUA-0050C00067 - first appeared in 2007. They are said to be "of good quality".

They had made dozens of arrests over the past months and, after piecing together information from each, had pinpointed where the counterfeiter was based.

Officers moved in on the village between Meaux and Chelles in Seine-et-Marne and arrested a man, in his 50s and with a record for previous counterfeiting operations.

Corinne Bertoux, head of the OCRFM, said in real terms there were not that many fake notes in circulation in France - and probably around 700,000 in the whole of Europe. Italy, Bulgaria and Lithuania were the main centres of forgeries.

She said that fakes "felt different" from real ones and that people should check first for the hologram on the metallic strip. On €50 notes the colour of the ink on the number should change in shade from one side to the other.
Photo: igor - Fotolia.com