Counterfeit money

Bulgaria is grappling with a sharp increase in counterfeit currency, with the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) reporting a concerning surge in fake banknotes, particularly those of 100 BGN denominations.

As Bulgaria inches closer to potential entry into the Eurozone, a closer examination of the nation's banknote circulation provides valuable insights into its monetary landscape.

The Central Bank of Cyprus highlighted in a report that the 10-euro banknote is the most counterfeited bill, making up 40.8% of all counterfeit money circulating on the island.

Police officers arrested a 24-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman in the central Athens neighborhood of Pagrati on Friday night on charges of drug possession, moving counterfeit currency, and weapon possession.

Turkish police last year launched a total of 176 operations against 101 organized crime rings, detaining nearly 2,400 suspects.

Those operations carried out by the police force's smuggling and organized crime unit in 46 province, targeted mafia-like groups.

EPA-EFE/MARIO CRUZ

On Tuesday, police found 4 million US dollars and 3.6 million euros of supposedly counterfeited banknotes at the illegal plant in the printing office of the Todor Kableshkov Higher School of Transport.

The Interior Ministry and the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office have conducted an operation against the printing of counterfeit dollars and euros in the capital, Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev announced on his official Twitter account.

The amount found is worth USD 4 million and EUR 3,600 million. The fake money has been printed on the premises of a university in Sofia.

Turkish police on Aug. 1 seized $15 million in counterfeit banknotes in Istanbul, security sources said. 

Turkish authorities confiscated about $271 million in fake U.S. $100 banknotes in a raid on an Istanbul printing press - the country's biggest counterfeit currency seizure in recent years, Hürriyet daily reported on July 22.

A boom of fake banknotes in Bulgaria during the holidays, NOVA reports.

Experts warn that during the big shopping in Christmas and New Year there is the greatest risk of getting fake money in your wallet.

In most cases, they are banknotes of BGN 20.

Counterfeits are even coins. The Central Bank started replacing the levs with new, more protected series.