Access to emerging technology has enhanced measures used by fraudulent individuals to counterfeit bank notes and other financial instruments across the globe.
The term "counterfeiting" as related to cash involves producing imitations of coins and banknotes or making alterations to genuine currencies to raise their denominational values.
According to the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), counterfeiting financial instruments fuels the economy of the underground and promotes the activities of organised criminal networks and terrorists.
To correctly assess the amount of money that is counterfeited, countries use Parts Per Million (ppm) for measurement. The score is given by measuring the number of counterfeit notes in circulation for every one million authentic notes and most nations aim to stay below a benchmark of 15 ppm.
9 most counterfeited currencies in the world
The following countries as profiled by YahooFinance have the most counterfeited notes:
| Rank | Country | PPM |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | US Dollar | 100? |
| 2 | British Pound | 42 |
| 3 | Euro | 13 |
| 4 | Australian Dollar | 9 |
| 5 | Philippine Peso | 7.9 |
| 6 | Canadian Dollar | 7 |
| 7 | South African Rand | 3 |
| 8 | New Zealand Dollar | 0.8 |
| 9 | Malaysian Ringgit | 0.3 |
The US dollar has been reported as the most counterfeited banknote in the world. YahooFinance notes the absence of concrete data on the number of counterfeited US dollars as the “US government remains secretive about the amount of counterfeit cash in circulation”
However, the most recent report on the issue (2006) reveals that one in every 10,000 US bills was fake.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), the amount of counterfeit notes between January - December 2016 was less than 1% (0.0014%) or 14 counterfeit notes out of a million banknotes.
While the CBN report puts the volume of Nigeria’s counterfeited banknotes at the barest minimum, there is a contradiction as bank customers still witness the issuance of counterfeit notes from authorised bank Automated teller machines (ATM).
The Counterfeit Currency (Special Provisions) Act 1974 (Nigeria), provides a sentence of life imprisonment for “Any person who falsely makes or counterfeits any bank note or coin resembling any bank note or current coin which is legal tender in any country other than Nigeria”.