Georgetown: Through aggressive training and public awareness, the authorities have been able to reduce the number of counterfeit currency in the system in 2014, compared to the previous year. Most of the illegal notes detected were $1,000 and $5,000 bills. In 2013, some 5,000 faked $1,000 notes were detected, compared to about 4,000 in 2014. Last year also saw a drop in forgery of $5,000 bills, with the number of counterfeit notes dipping from 18 in 2013 to seven in 2014.
Bank of Guyana Governor, Dr. Gobind Ganga, told the Guyana Chronicle that the reduction was due to robust public awareness programmes, utilising both the print and electronic media and the training of cashiers and tellers to identify key features on all notes.
These persons, he said, are important in the fight against bogus notes in the system, pointing out that though the situation is not alarming as counterfeit notes account for less than 000.1 per cent of all notes in the system, every effort is being made to eliminate the problem.
The Bank of Guyana Governor also said that the amount found in Guyana, is way below compared to other countries, but called on all to be ever vigilant against counterfeit currency in the system.
On December 27 last year, the Guyana Chronicle reported that a carpenter, caught with forged $5,000 bills while being in custody for an alleged cellphone theft, was granted $75,000 bail.
Guy Matheson, of Lot 59 Enmore North, East Coast Demerara, was charged with having possession of four $5,000 notes without lawful authority, in Georgetown on December 16, knowing them to be forged.
Matheson pleaded guilty to the offence. He said he found the counterfeit notes in an envelope lying on the road and he picked it up, claiming that he had no idea that they were faked.
Persons found with bogus notes can face a maximum of 14 years in prison, but the burden of proof is on the accused.
From all indications, persons engaged in the forgery have shifted their interest away from $20 and $100 bills to $1000 and $5000 notes.
Dr. Ganga pointed out that through increased vigilance, the number of counterfeit notes has been on a steady decline as they are becoming increasingly difficult to be forged. Last month, two $5,000 counterfeit bills were found in the currency system.
The authorities are investigating whether illegal bills are made in Guyana or whether they are made overseas and brought here. The penalty for producing counterfeit notes is life imprisonment.
Counterfeit currencies affects the economy of a country. According to Wikipedia, some of the ill-effects of counterfeit money include a reduction in the value of real money; and increase in prices (inflation) due to more money being circulated in the economy – an unauthorised, artificial increase in the money supply; a decrease in the acceptability of paper money; and losses, when traders are not reimbursed for counterfeit money detected by banks, even if it is confiscated.
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