The counterfeit VND100,000 polymer notes.

VietNamNet – An officer at the Hanoi Branch of the Saigon Industrial and Commercial Bank on July 26 discovered a counterfeit VND100,000 polymer bank note.

The VND100,000 bank note was printed on a material similar to the polymer notes. It was taken by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) for further investigation.

Nguyen Van Toan, Deputy Head of the Vault and Issuance Department under the SBV said that counterfeit VND100,000 bank notes had been found before, in March 2006. The SBV later warned the public against the circulation of counterfeit money and posted instructions to the ways to differentiate real and counterfeit money on their website www.sbv.gov.vn

The newly discovered counterfeit VND100,000 bank note was almost an exact copy of the real note. In the past, counterfeit notes were easily produced on the old style cotton paper, while the new polymer material has proven harder to emulate.

An official from a bank said that his bank seized VND3-5mil worth of counterfeit money every month. Counterfeiters are also getting better at their craft, and the notes are growing increasingly similar to real notes.

Once source told Thanh Nien that the latest generation of counterfeit VND100,000 bank notes had been circulating in Vietnam for several months. Commercial banks and police agencies have discovered many cases of transporting and circulation of counterfeit money, and have informed about the SBV. However, these cases have not been made public.

When asked about the cases, Mr Toan declined to give a direct answer, saying that he was not able to offer further details about the case. He said that the problem of counterfeit banknotes was a headache for every nation around the world. The US Government, for example, has to provide a new series of the dollar every 7-10 years in order to prevent counterfeits from circulating.

Ho Huu Hanh, Director of HCM City Branch of SBV, said yesterday that counterfeit VND100,000 bank notes have also been seen in the city. The notes were printed in foreign countries on a plastic material using high technology.

Mr Toan from SBV said that although the counterfeit notes were made with very sophisticated equipment, they can still be easily recognised. Mr Hanh from SBV’s HCM City Branch said that the counterfeit bank notes are identified by the late generation counting machines.

(Source: VietNamNet, TN)