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The amount of counterfeit euro banknotes in circulation in Germany surged dramatically last year compared to prior years, the country’s central bank announced this week.
According to the Bundesbank, police, shops, and banks in Germany uncovered nearly 56,600 counterfeit notes worth more than €5 million in 2023, a 28% rise from 2022.
“The increase in the number of counterfeit notes is due to a few major cases of fraud, mainly involving counterfeit €200 ($217) and €500 ($541) banknotes,” revealed Bundesbank board member Burkhard Balz.
He did, however, add that the most recent data are “a far cry” from the all-time high recorded in 2015, when 95,400 false euros were confiscated, and promised that the “risk for ordinary citizens of coming into contact with counterfeit money remains low.”
The Bundesbank estimates that seven counterfeit banknotes circulate in Germany for every 10,000 persons.
According to a recent research by the German central bank, approximately 60% of purchases in the EU’s largest economy are still made with cash.