Number of detected counterfeits keeps declining

During the first three months of 2018, 8,418 counterfeit Bank of Russia banknotes were found circulating in the Russian banking system, which is almost a third less than in the same period of 2017 (12,447). Therefore, a sustainable downward trend in the number of counterfeit banknotes has been maintained over several quarters.

The biggest number of counterfeits was found in 2018 Q1 among 5,000-ruble banknotes (5,743 sheets), closely followed by 1,000-ruble notes (2,428 sheets). The fewest number of counterfeits was detected among 10-ruble banknotes (1 sheet). The distribution of detected counterfeit coins was the following: five 10-ruble coins, 21 5-ruble coins and one 2-ruble coin.

In the first quarter of 2018, the number of detected counterfeit foreign currency banknotes totalled 869. Of these, 586 counterfeits were found in January, 178 in February and 105 in March. The US dollar was the absolute leader among counterfeit banknotes (815 sheets). Several euro (50 sheets) and Chinese yuan (4 sheets) notes were also detected.