EFCC declares Yahaya Bello wanted over alleged N80bn ‘financial crimes’
CBN confiscates 67,265 counterfeit naira notes in 2020
By Rasaq Adebayo
The Central Bank of Nigeria has said that a total of 67,265 banknotes with a nominal value of N56.8 million were confiscated in 2020.
According to the yearly report of the CBN, the volume is 20.8 per cent less than 84,934 pieces confiscated the previous year and 12.18 per cent short of the nominal value.
In 2019, N64.7 million was confiscated. The report also revealed that N1000 and N500 bills dominated the confiscated denominations, accounting for 69.06 percent and 30.79 per cent respectively.
The two highest denominations accounted for 99.85 per cent of seized fake naira with smaller denominations taking only 0.15 per cent.
The data validates the historical trend where criminals target higher denominations for counterfeiting.
According to the statistics, the ratio of confiscated counterfeit notes to the volume of currencies in circulation was 13 pieces per million or one to 77,000, suggesting that one out of every 77,000 banknotes in circulation last year was fake.
The apex bank reports that the volume of currency-in-circulation increased by 19 per cent from N2.44 trillion at the end of 2019 to N2.9 trillion by December 31, 2020.
The increase suggests the continued dominance of cash transactions despite the growth of digital payment systems.
