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A Tribune Special
Fake Currency — II
Counterfeiting as old as money itself
Man Mohan
Our Roving Editor

Smart gangs dealing in counterfeit Indian currency have copied an idea from some furniture shops selling “fake antique” pieces by artificially seasoning the wood in rain and bright sunlight.

The “fake currency artists” are also making newly printed counterfeit notes look like old ones to give you the impression that they are genuine. Of course, they are not seasoning their fakes in rainwater and sunshine. For them, a bit of crumpling or folding of notes, with fake bank rubber stamp impression and pen markings on the fakes, is enough to do the trick.

Besides Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), there are some enterprising gangs also operating in printing counterfeit currency, trying to be rich overnight. But the ISI enjoys monopoly in this business.

Counterfeiting is probably as old as money itself. Nations have used counterfeiting as a means of warfare - as the ISI appears to be doing. The idea is to overflow India’s economy with fake bank notes, so that the real value of the money plummets.

Hyderabad, in the recent years, has emerged as a major transit point for receiving the ISI controlled consignments of counterfeit currency from the UAE, especially Dubai, where a large number of Indians live. Many of them unwittingly become the carriers of fake money concealed in their baggage without their knowledge.

From Hyderabad, the consignments are dispatched to various places in the country. The Dubai operators are transporting the fake currency in regular flights through bona fide passengers. Sometimes, they sent the ‘couriers’ for this purpose only.

Many labourers from Nizamabad, Karimnagar and Kadapa districts keep going to Dubai in search of livelihood and return to visit their families. Similar is the case with the people going to the Gulf, Malaysia and Thailand from Kerala, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra and other states.

The fake currency operators in Dubai and elsewhere select passengers, who are in need of money to purchase a return ticket to India. For them, they arrange a ticket as well as a suitcase for their luggage.

They show them a suitcase containing perfumes, clothes and gift items. Underneath they conceal fake currency wrapped in carbon papers. The packed suitcase is sold at a ‘very attractive price’ — the gift hamper is shown as part of the total price.

Home-returning Indians buying gold jewellery at some Dubai shops are charged in dollars or in local currency, but the balance amount is returned in Indian currency, mixed with some fake notes.

Photo albums, especially wedding ones, packed neatly with Indian fake currency notes and sealed with polythene paper, are also being sent.

Dubai continues to be the major transit route for fake Indian currency, which is made available there by the ISI. The ISI is using counterfeit money to attack India's economy as well fund terrorism in India.

In Dubai, the ‘Asian gang’ engaged in selling/distributing fake Indian banknotes include both Muslims and Hindus. Recently, an alleged gang member, Raj Babankilla’s arrest, and seizure of counterfeit notes of Rs 20 lakh, led the police to his associates in the Al Muteena area - Jaya Chandran, Iranian national Hussain Ali Habib and a Pakistani national Jol Khan. Fake notes of Rs 900,000 were also seized from their car.

During interrogation, they confessed that they had brought the counterfeit Indian currency ‘from an Asian country,’ which, according to Indian intelligence sources, is Pakistan only. The Dubai-based counterfeiters and distributor’s network get fake currency at a nominal cost.

An Indian intelligence agency, some time ago, picked up the trail of the counterfeiters from the interrogation of a Gulf-based bookmaker after he was deported from Dubai to India.

His interrogation revealed that the network of the ‘D’ Company of Dawood Ibrahim, now operating from Pakistan with the ISI’s close cooperation, is also involved in the transportation of fake Indian currency notes, mostly of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denominations, directly from Dubai to Hyderabad, Bangalore, Thiruvatnapuram, Kochi and some other stations. The ‘consignments’ are also airlifted from Kathmandu and Dhaka, from where they find their way into India through porous border.

“The fake currency is offered to various people throughout India at 1:2 ratio of original currency to counterfeit currency,” according to a study done by an Andhra Pradesh police officer, B. Srinivasulu.

Aftab Bhatki, originally from Mumbai, with the help of Babu Gaithan, of Barkas, Hyderabad, now residing in Dubai, was allegedly found to be organising the circulation/distribution of fake Indian currency from Dubai to Hyderabad, pointed out Srinivasulu’s report. Bhatki is said to be an associate of mafia don, Dawood Ibrahim.

But what has stung security agencies this time is not only the quantum of the seizure but the fine printing and high-quality currency paper that has been used to print the fake notes and strong evidence of collusion between banks and criminals enjoying the ISI's patronage.

Recently, during a check, the RBI found fake Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes from the State Bank of India’s (SBI) chest in the Domariyaganj branch near the Nepal border. The serial numbers on fake and genuine notes were the same.

“This means that the gang members would first confirm the serial number of the currency notes in the chest from their links inside the bank, and then inform those printing the fakes to put the same serial number on them,” a Central Bureau of India (CBI) officer said, wondering whether a printing press has started operating somewhere in India.

At the SBI’s Doomariaganj branch, 20 bundles of Rs 1000 currency notes were found to be carrying the same serial number (5 CK 756601). A majority of the bundles containing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes bore the same serial number. About Rs 70 lakh were found missing from the chest. Obviously, the plan was to replace the genuine banknotes with fake ones.

An early warning that it would be easy for the ‘enemy’ and the mafia to print fake Indian currency was sounded in the mid-90s by Switzerland’s Giori Company, which controlled over 95 per cent business of manufacturing banknotes secuirty printing presses, security paper and ink. It happened during the regime of Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao. Dr Manmohan Singh was the Union finance minister then.

In an exclusive news report, this correspondent then wrote that India wanted to split the order of modernising and upgradation of three security presses then, including the major one at Dewas (Madhya Pradesh).

For strange reasons, the government then wanted to favour a new player - Japan’s Komori. The Giori warned India that Komori’s machines were not foolproof, and it would increase the risk of printing counterfeit Indian currency. Despite this, Komori was favoured, and the time-tested Swiss Giori machines could not get the full order.

The counterfeit money’s ill-effects have started showing: reduction in the value of real money and increase in prices (inflation) due to more money getting circulated. And — the worst is — Indians are losing faith in their bills as fakes are turning out to be too real for the eye.

(Concluded)