Bank Indonesia destroys thousands of counterfeit banknotes in Palu

A number of officers fed counterfeit rupiah banknotes into a shredding machine during the physical destruction of counterfeit notes in Palu, Central Sulawesi, on Thursday 5 March 2026. Bank Indonesia (BI) Representative for Central Sulawesi (Sulteng) destroyed 3,274 counterfeit rupiah notes in denominations of Rp5,000 to Rp100,000, covering the period 2014-2025, including notes received by BI and those reported by police investigations.

Staff then placed the shredded remnants into plastic bags as part of the destruction process. At the ceremony in Palu, Irfan Sukarna, Head of BI’s Sulteng Representative, and other local officials oversaw the destruction by feeding the notes into the shredding machine.