Bank Indonesia Destroys 5,454 Counterfeit Banknotes in the Riau Islands as Counterfeiting Trend Declines

Batam – Bank Indonesia’s Representative Office for the Riau Islands (Kepri) has destroyed 5,454 counterfeit rupiah notes found during the period from November 2022 to December 2025. The head of BI Kepri, Rony Widiarto P, said the thousands of counterfeit notes originated from both the processing of banknotes and findings by members of the public in the Riau Islands region. “The counterfeit rupiah notes destroyed amount to 5,454 notes and come from the results of processing banknotes and public findings in the Kepulauan Riau Province during the period from November 2022 to December 2025,” he said by telephone on Friday, 27 May 2026. All evidence had previously been handed over to the police for legal proceedings before destruction, subject to approval by the Batam District Court. “The destruction yesterday was carried out using a paper-shredder machine owned by Bank Indonesia,” he added. He noted that the trend of counterfeit notes in Indonesia has continued to fall in recent years, with the figure dropping to 4 ppm in the 2024–2025 period. “The decline is driven by improvements in printing technology and the security features on rupiah notes, which have become more modern and harder to counterfeit,” he explained. In addition, the latest rupiah emission has received international recognition. BI, together with Botasupal, continues to intensify public education through the campaign Cinta, Bangga, Paham (CBP) Rupiah. The public is urged to recognise the authenticity of money using the 3D method — seen, touched, and held up to light. In addition, the public is invited to apply the 5J principle in caring for rupiah: do not fold, do not write on, do not staple, do not crumple, and do not wet.