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Rabat – A total of 7,372 fake banknotes amounting to MAD 1.1 Million ($107,277) were in circulation in Morocco in 2021, according to official data from Morocco’s central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib (BAM).
BAM reports an overall decline in the circulation of fraudulent banknotes in the course of the past five years. Fake bank notes went from 6.1 units per million banknotes in 2017 to 3.3 notes per million bank units, the central bank said.
The majority of fake banknotes BAM detected were MAD 200 bills. The bills made up 61% of all fraudulent banknotes the bank found in circulation, BAM said in its latest report on Morocco’s financial situation.
As BAM is responsible for ensuring the security of official documents, the bank has said that it issued last year 1.4 million biometric passports, 1.1 million electronic driving licenses, and one million electronic registration certificates.
The list of encrypted documents BAM issued in 2021 also includes 70,000 gun licenses and 800,000 baccalaureate degrees and transcripts for Regional Education and Training Academies.
In 2019, the bank identified 9,575 fake banknotes in circulation, the equivalent of MAD 1.5 million ($161,000).
BAM detects fake banknotes through the process of quality maintenance operations.
Read Also: Bank Al-Maghrib: Seizure of Fake Bills Down 34%
In addition to the quality maintenance operations, the Moroccan central bank carries out frequent inspections to ensure compliance with all the regulations regarding banknotes. The inspections take place in private money sorting centers as well as in banking facilities across Morocco.
Faking banknotes in Morocco is punishable by law and amounts to a life-prison sentence under the current criminal justice system.
