Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has revealed that it discovered counterfeit notes with a nominal value of N56.83 million in 2020.

This was revealed in its recently released currency report.

According to the CBN, counterfeit currency is an imitation of currency produced without legal sanction from the state or government. Producing or spending counterfeit currency is a form of fraud or forgery.

The report said “To maintain the integrity of the banknotes in circulation, the Bank, in collaboration with Security Agencies, sustained efforts at combatting counterfeiting activities in 2020. A total of 67,265 pieces of counterfeit notes with a nominal value of N56.83 million was recorded in 2020.

This was 20.80 per cent in volume and 12.18 per cent value, lower than 84,934 pieces and N64.71 million in 2019.”

The apex bank revealed that the highest denominations of the Naira were the favourites to be counterfeited.

“The N1000 and N500 denominations constituted the bulk of counterfeited banknotes, accounting for 69.06 per cent and 30.79 per cent, respectively, of the total counterfeit notes.

“The data on counterfeit notes in 2020 were mainly from four (4) sources, namely: Security Agencies, DMBs, CBN’s 24 processing centres and BWH Plc. The ratio of counterfeit notes to the volume of banknotes in circulation was 13 pieces per million, compared to 20 pieces per million banknotes in 2019,” the report added.