BI to withdraw vulnerable notes<\/p>\n
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
In a bid to reduce the rising number of counterfeited banknotes,
\nthe central bank is planning to withdraw more notes considered
\nvulnerable to counterfeiting.<\/p>\n
Bank Indonesia governor Burhanuddin Abdullah said the
\nbanknotes subject to immediate withdrawal were the Rp 50,000 and
\nRp 10,000 notes. New Rp 100,000 and Rp 20,000 banknotes were
\nreleased last month.<\/p>\n
"The withdrawal is aimed at protecting the banknotes from
\ncounterfeiting," said Burhanuddin at a press briefing on
\nWednesday, after meeting Vice President Jusuf Kalla to report on
\nthe central bank's attempts to combat counterfeiting.<\/p>\n
Burhanuddin said the new banknotes would have improved
\nprotections to prevent them from being easily faked, with one new
\nfeature being the so-called "rainbow watermark" lines.<\/p>\n
Unlike the old notes, which only have one protection line
\nusing one color, the new banknotes will have a number of lines
\nusing different colors.<\/p>\n
"The protection system applied for our new banknotes will be
\nsimilar to those applied for the upcoming euro notes," said
\nBurhanuddin.<\/p>\n
The government is currently trying hard to combat the number
\nof counterfeit banknotes, on discovering the extent of
\ncounterfeiting practices over the past few years.<\/p>\n
Data from Bank Indonesia shows that from January to September
\n2004, BI collected 36,550 fake notes, a 40 percent rise on the
\nsame period last year.<\/p>\n
Left unchecked, counterfeit banknotes increase the amount
\nmoney in circulation, adding to inflationary pressure that erodes
\npeople's purchasing power.<\/p>\n
BI banknote circulation director Lucky Fathul said while the
\nnumber of counterfeited banknotes in Indonesia was still lower
\nthan in most countries worldwide, the central bank will remain
\nvigilant.<\/p>\n
According to Lucky, on average there were only seven
\ncounterfeited banknotes for every million notes in Indonesia at
\npresent. This is lower than the 110 per million in the United
\nStates, and 56 per million in Europe.<\/p>\n
In order to help reduce counterfeiting, the central bank has
\nappealed to police, prosecutors and judges to impose severe
\npunishments on people involved in the practices, Lucky added.<\/p>\n
"At present, counterfeiters have usually been penalized with a
\nlenient two-year prison sentence, while the maximum punishment is
\n15 years."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bi-to-withdraw-vulnerable-notes-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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