NEW DELHI, July 14: Pakistan ISI-run mafia indulging in production of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) has been laying more emphasis on counterfeiting Rs 500 and lesser denomination notes as compared to those of Rs 1,000.
This came to light after some consignments of fake currency were intercepted by security agencies and during interrogation of people involved in the racket it was found that counterfeiting of Rs 1,000 was costlier than notes of lesser denominations, official sources said.
According to a report by Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), India is “extremely vulnerable” to FICN from Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand through Pakistani operators and their conduits.
“The most widely circulated FICN denominations are Rs 500, followed by Rs 100 and Rs 1,000. Seizures also indicate notes of Rs 50 and Rs 20 in circulation,” it said.
Intelligence assessments and seizure reports confirm that India is extremely vulnerable to FICN from Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand. “Pakistani operators based in Nepal, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand act as recipient of FICN from Pakistan as well as conduits to the distribution channels in India through air and land border,” the report said.
Seizure reports also indicate FICN racketeers using villages, weekly haats, liquor shops and petrol pumps of the border areas with Nepal and Bangladesh to pump the fake currency into the system, it said.
“Bulk detections of FICN in the bank branches including Reserve Bank of India (RBI) offices indicate easy acceptance of such currency by public and the FICN has crossed different filtering barriers because of high quality counterfeiting including sophisticated security features in FICN,” said the report.
The intelligence agencies have found that fake currency notes are being printed in Dhaka. “FICN seizure in Bangladesh from a local revealed that the FICN is also printed locally in Dhaka as their principal handler had sufficient equipment to print the fake currency,” the report said.
In border areas of Malda district of West Bengal, it has been noticed by the intelligence agencies that cattle smugglers are “main couriers” for smuggling the fake Indian currency from Bangladesh.
Incidentally, the smuggling of FICN from abroad has shown an increase in the recent past prompting intelligence agencies to heighten vigil.
There has been seizure of FICN with face value of Rs 28.4 crore in 2010, Rs 37.42 crore in 2011, Rs 58.60 in 2012 and Rs 26.68 crore in 2013 (up to August end), the report said.
The central intelligence agencies have found that China has emerged as a new transit hub for Pakistan-based operators to circulate fake Indian currency which was also being routed in ‘diplomatic bags’ to Pakistan High Commission in Colombo and via two leading courier services.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), country’s lead agency to check smuggling, had during April, 2013 and January this year registered five cases outside India and seized FICN with face value of Rs 15 lakh with the help of other authorities, the sources said.
During 2012-13, eight cases of smuggling of FICN from abroad were registered. About 14 people, including five Pakistanis, were arrested in this connection. FICN with face value of Rs 6.35 lakh were seized in these cases, they said. (PTI)
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