Bangladesh Bank yesterday refuted the media reports that claimed fake notes worth of Tk 5,000 enter the country's market every day, and one in every three to four notes is fake.

The BB issued a statement following the comments madeby analysts at a roundtable that said the circulation of fake currency is gradually increasing.

"It is not true as it is inconsistent with the reality,” the central bank said in the statement.

The country has a total of Tk 68,000 crore worth of authentic currency in the economy, the banking regulator said, adding that it would be fearful if Tk 5,000 crore worth of fake notes is in circulation out of Tk 68,000 crore.

The regulator yesterday checked the volts of four banks to identify the fake notes. It examined around 9.07 lakh pieces of Tk 100 and Tk 500 notes. But it did not find any fake note.

Prof Abul Barakat, chairman of Janata Bank, said on Monday, “Fake notes worth Tk 5,000 crore, in denomination of Tk 500, are coming into the market everyday and one third or fourth of those notes are fake.”

Abdul Jalil MP, chairman of Mercantile Bank, said the country's economy cannot be a middle-income country or self-reliant until fake notes are wiped out from the market.

The central bank is strictly monitoring to prevent the circulation of fake currencies in the economy, according to the statement.

It said the central bank has already taken a number of measures, including formation of taskforce, visiting volts of commercial banks, strengthening security features and arranging mass awareness against fake notes.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 9th Feb 2012