It just takes a cashier to stamp “counterfeit” on a `1,000 note, to turn it into an ordinary piece of paper. And with almost 30 per cent of the country’s fake currency being pumped into Maharashtra, the volume of such paper in the state, is only alarming.
According to the state Anti-Terrorism Squad, the volume of counterfeit currency in Maharashtra has increased seven times in the last six years. While 151 cases were registered, 109 persons were arrested and `41,78.820 was seized in 2006; in 2011, 322 cases were registered and `3,82,170 was recovered from 248 people.
The business model of counterfeit currency:
While counterfeit currency is a major source for terrorism funds, it is also just another business for some who make their living by trading in it. “Once the counterfeit notes reach Bangladesh from Pakistan, agents buy the same at a discount. The notes are then sneaked into West Bengal, where the sub-agents buy the counterfeit notes from the agents who sell it to them after adding their profit margin. The sub-agents travel to cities and sell them further,” said an ATS officer.
Citing a case study, the officer said that in April 2011, the Juhu unit of the ATS arrested Haroon Sheikh, 51, from Andheri and seized from him `5.04 lakhs worth of fake currency. “Sheikh is originally from Girwa village in the Purulia district in West Bengal, which is near the Bangladesh border. During his interrogation, he revealed that he had brought the notes for `45,000 original currency in exchange of `1 lakh worth of counterfeit. He wanted to sell the same in Mumbai for `60,000 against each lakh,” said an officer.
According to the officer, autorickshaw drivers, Chinese food stall vendors and wine shop employees top the list of buyers of counterfeit notes. “An autorickshaw driver readily agrees to buy `10,000 worth counterfeit notes in exchange of `6,000,” he said.
Cashier woes:
A head cashier of a nationalised bank, presently posted at a branch in the northern suburbs, said that despite working for over 30 years in the banking industry, she was trained to identify counterfeit currency only three months ago by the RBI. The cashier, who is due to retire soon, discussed the problems faced at the cash counter. “The two biggest horrors faced by a cashier are that of ensuring that the opening and the closing balance of the cash tally and that no counterfeit currency has been accepted by mistake,” she said.
The cashier, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that senior officials usually refuse to take charge as cashiers, because of the risks that come along with it. “They fear being penalised in case they accept counterfeit currency by mistake. Also, the volume of cash inflow on a weekday is about `25 to `30 lakh. Counting the notes and at the same time checking for fake ones, requires expertise,” she said, adding, “Earlier, it was easier to identify fake notes, but with their quality improving by the day, it becomes very difficult for experienced cashiers to identify them with naked eyes. Often, the notes have to be put through the UV machine, to cross-check if it is fake.”
When asked about the procedure adopted by the bank in case an account holder tries to deposit a counterfeit note, she said, “According to the earlier guidelines issued by the RBI, it was mandatory to lodge a complaint with the local police against the depositor after detecting a fake note. But the banks managed to convince the RBI that it was impractical to do so. Later, the Central Bank revised its guidelines and asked to lodge a complaint after four such instances are detected. But even that is very impractical. Firstly, there is a shortage of cashiers in the banks and lodging a complaint is also time consuming. A cashier will not be able to perform his duty, if he spends most of the time in the police station. The police also summons the cashiers a few times after arresting the person, who is the source of the note,” she said.
To avoid the inconvenience to both the depositor and the cashier, most banks just stamp the note as counterfeit and hand it over to the customer.
We are encouraging use of plastic money: RBI
When the RBI was contacted for its take on counterfeit currency, Alpana Killawala, chief communication officer and spokesperson, RBI said, “RBI is working on reducing dependence on cash by encouraging use of electronic modes of payment like ATM, credit cards, debit cards, Internet and mobile banking.”
Even God is not immune to counterfeit cash:
Siddhivinayak temple of Lord Ganesha is visited by lakhs of devotees everyday. Lakhs of rupees are put into the donation boxes at the temple, which is counted by the trust’s bankers once a week. “We have our accounts with the Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Bank of Maharashtra. Every Monday, employees of these banks come with counting and UV machines to check the notes. The machines detect at least two to three fake notes during each counting. These notes are generally of `500 and `1,000 denominations,” said Mangesh Shinde, CEO of Siddhivinayak Trust.
Counterfeit notes and terrorism:
Haroon Naik, 35, was arrested by the ATS on August 22 from the Chhatrapati International Airport, after he was found to be in possession of counterfeit currency worth `17,500. The ATS that later booked him for the July 13 triple blasts case, said that he handled the finances of the Indian Mujahideen and had arranged for the funds used for executing the blasts through hawala channels. “The Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the external intelligence agency of Pakistan, raises the funds for terror operations in India from sale of narcotics and through counterfeit currency that is pumped into India through hawala channels,” said a senior ATS officer.
According to the officer, the counterfeit notes are printed in the press located at Queta in Pakistan, and are later sold to agents, who sneak the notes into India through the porous borders of Bangladesh and Nepal. “The ISI sells the counterfeit to the agents in exchange for the original currency that is used for sponsoring terror attacks in India. This way, the ISI not only gets the original currency, but it also floods India with counterfeit,” explained the officer, adding, “Their intention is to flood India with counterfeit currency in order to break its economy.”
The terrorists also use the Mumbai underworld to circulate the notes in the country, the officer said. “Aftab Batki, a key associate of Dawood Ibrahim controls the Fake Indian Currency Note (FICN) operations for the ISI and is responsible for using his local machinery in Mumbai for circulating the notes. While the ISI uses Batki, the terror outfits do not use the local underworld anymore. Earlier, terror outfits did not have their base in cities and had to depend on the underworld, but now they have their own sleeper modules in every major city to circulate fake currency,” he said.
ATS chief Rakesh Maria said, “It is an issue, which has warranted the attention of security agencies not only in the state, but also in the Centre.” The Centre, after taking cognisance of the issue, has asked every agency in the state to submit its report on counterfeit to the CBI and the National Investigation Agency every month. When asked what measures could be taken to curb the menace, a senior officer said, “The security measures introduced by the RBI are easily copied by forgers. So, the RBI should first try and bring out currency like those in Australia and the first world countries, where notes cannot be forged as it is economically unviable to do so,” he said.
The change in ways of sneaking fake currency to India:
Initially, small amounts of fake currency was sneaked into the country by stuffing it between books that would be parceled through post, but the practice discontinued after these parcels began to be scanned thoroughly. The underworld then took over the transport of fake currency. “When the underworld was at its peak, counterfeit would be stuffed inside electronic equipment like refrigerators and washing machines that would be imported from the UAE,” said an ATS officer.
The officer said that after extensive checks of these imported items, human carriers became the next option, to bring in notes into the country.
Commenting on the present method of transport, a senior officer said that 60 to 70 per cent of the counterfeit currency is sneaked into West Bengal through the porous border of Bangladesh, with Malda and Murshidabad being the two major districts from where the currency is brought into the country.
In another startling revelation, the officer said that it is a long-standing suspicion that the currency is stuffed into diplomatic pouches and brought into the country. “According to the Geneva Convention, bags of diplomats travelling in flights cannot be checked at the airports. It is a long-standing suspicion that diplomats from hostile countries have been bringing in counterfeit currency into the country by stuffing them in these bags,” he said.