The 2017 CBN annual report which covered the year 2016 noted that 77,576 pieces of counterfeit banknotes valued at N51.45 million. were seized by the apex bank.
The 2018 CBN annual report which also covered the year 2018 showed that fake notes worth N93.43 million were seized during the period while the 2019 CBN annual report which also covered the year 2018 showed that fake notes worth N98.82 million were recovered during the period.
The 2020 annual report showed that in 2019, N64.71 million worth of counterfeit notes were seized and a total of 67,265 pieces of counterfeit notes with a nominal value of N56.83 million were recorded in 2020.
The report read, “To maintain the integrity of the banknotes in circulation, the Department, in collaboration with DMBs, Bankers Warehouse Pls and security agencies, continued to intensify its efforts at mitigating the incidences of counterfeiting during the period under review. A total of 119,663 pieces of counterfeit notes with a nominal value of N98.82m was recorded in 2018. This indicated a decline of 1.30 percent in volume terms and an increase of 5.77 percent in value terms when compared with 118,126 pieces with a nominal value of N93.43m recorded in the corresponding period of 2017.”
The CBN also revealed that over the years, some of the notes that were commonly counterfeited included the N1000 and N500 notes.
The CBN In a circular to banks in January 2019, had threatened to fine banks N1 million per branch if found guilty of paying out fake notes to its customers.