The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) on Friday alerted members of the public about ongoing security investigation into fake $100 bills allegedly imported into Nigeria from India.
ABCON President, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, disclosed this in a
statement after the association’s National Executive Council (NEC)
meeting in Lagos.
Gwadabe said the $100 bills were majorly
counterfeit. He said some of the fraudsters’ objective was not only to
make profit, but to undermine Nigeria’s chances for automatic membership
of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) after assessment of the
country’s financial system scheduled to hold before March.
The
ABCON boss said the issue of fake dollar in circulation had been
observed and reported to relevant security agencies, adding that the
ABCON, had in the interest of the economy and Bureaux De Change (BDCs)
businesses, secured Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) backing to begin nationwide campaign
against fake currencies in the country.
He said rising cases of fake currencies in circulation had led to huge losses to BDC operators and the economy.
Gwadabe
said ABCON would continue to educate members of the public on how to
identify fake dollar bills in order to protect the image of the country
in the eyes of foreign investors.
“It is part of our objectives
which in enshrined on our constitution as an association to eliminate
the incidences of fake currencies circulation thereby enhancing the
image of the country and transparency in our operations,” he said.
Gwadabe said the ABCON NEC had released a guide to all BDCs on how to detect a fake dollar bill.
He
disclosed that there are seven dollar bills of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20,
$50 and $100 and seven steps to authenticate each of them.
“The
weight of each bill is one gram, 2.61 inches wide and 6.14 inches
length. It is 75 per cent cotton and 25 per cent linen. Your finger can
feel thickness and texture. “Besides, the portrait water mark is partly
overlapped by the Treasury seal, while the $100 bill is printed on the
right side of the bill.
The strip is thin, faint and runs
vertically from top to bottom to the left of the watermark portrait.
Also, the 3D security ribbon, also called the thread, is bright blue and
vertical on the bill,” he said.
Continuing, Gwadabe explained
that the raised printing feels rough on right shoulder of Benjamin
Franklin portrait while the colour shifting ink works under ultra violet
light.
He added that the dollar bill undergoes micro printing,
which is the production of recognisable patterns or characters in the
bill at a scale that requires magnification to read with the Unclad eye.
To the unaided eye, the text may appear as a solid line.
Source:- Thisdaylive
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