The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reported seizing over N365.24 million worth of counterfeit notes from circulation in Nigeria.
This information was disclosed in the CBN annual report between 2016 and 2020.
The figures were collated from the CBN’s annual report for each year, available on its website. The 2017 CBN annual report noted that the bank seized 77,576 pieces of counterfeit banknotes in 2016, valued at N51.45 million.
The 2018 report showed that N93.43m fake notes were seized in 2017 and N98.82m in 2018.
The 2020 annual report showed that N64.71 million in counterfeit notes were seized in 2019 and N56.83 million in 2020.
The bank has maintained that N1000 and N500 notes have been the most counterfeited over the years.
It is clear from these statistics provided by the CBN’s annual report for each year available on its website that there are still large amounts of counterfeit money circulating through Nigerian markets and businesses despite their efforts towards preventing such activities from occurring, especially when compared with international standards where far fewer cases are recorded annually due largely to stricter regulations that have been put into place over time.
In a circular to banks, the CBN threatened to fine banks for paying fake notes through their automated teller machines. It warned that each bank would be fined N1 million per branch if found guilty of this crime. In order to combat this problem, it appears as though the CBN has taken several steps to ensure that fake currency does not enter circulation within Nigeria’s economy, such as the redesign of the naira.
