Euro banknotes

A group of counterfeiters which had been producing 100-euro bills was busted in a joint police operation involving Europol and police forces in four countries, including Greece.

The criminal group consisted of at least 18 people and their 100-euro bills were hand-made, as opposed to printed, using special ink and watermarks, which made them invisible to counterfeit bill detectors.

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.

The 20 BGN banknotes from 2005 will be removed from circulation from February 1 and will no longer be legal tender. After this date, banknotes with a nominal value of BGN 20, 2005 issue, will be exchanged at the cash desks of the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) at nominal value without limit of quantity, without fee and without deadline for exchange.

The Special Prosecutor's Office has brought charges against six members of an organized crime group for possession and distribution of counterfeit euro notes, said the press office of the Appellate Special Prosecutor's Office.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is releasing the last two banknotes from the "Europe" series - from 100 and 200 euros.

The banknotes started circulating on May 28th.

Bulgaria's Specialised Prosecutor's Office and the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime disrupted a fake money printing factory, located in the basement of a hotel in Bulgaria's seaside resort of Sunny Beach. Four people were detained, including the hotel owner, who, according to the investigators, is also part of the criminal group.

He usually goes to buy something small, explains that he has no Bulgarian money, and the cashiers returned the change in levs

There are a lot of signals for a man paying with fake money. He offered 100-euro banknotes in beauty salons and shops in Sofia and wanted to refund him in levs, NOVA reported. There is information that he has tried the same in Sliven.

France is the country most affected by counterfeit money in Europe, but the continent has seen a decline in the amount of counterfeit notes, France Press reports said.

Bulgarian authorities have busted an organized criminal group responsible for distribution of counterfeit euro banknotes, the national Prosecutor's Office said in a statement Thursday, cited by Xinhua.

The European Central Bank on Tuesday released a new 50-euro note as part of a rollout of new banknotes that boast better security features.

The new 50 that went into circulation on Tuesday features similar "feel, look, tilt" security measures that are part of the already issued 5, 10, and 20 euro banknotes.