Currency counterfeiting: Sanusi decries high incidence in West Africa

[PeoplesDaily]

By Aisha Bolaji

The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has decried the high incidence of currency counterfeiting in the West African sub-region.

He spoke yesterday in Abuja, during a one-week regional workshop on "Banknotes and Currency Management and Forecasting in Central Banks", organized by the West African Institute For Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM).

Represented at the occasion by Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Mrs. Sarah Alade, he said there was the need for effective collaboration between central banks and other international agencies involved in the fight against currency counterfeiting.

He said if the trend remained unchecked, it could undermine the integrity of the domestic economy and creates economic distortions thus, rendering the tools of economic management ineffective and therefore urged for the closing of ranks among financial stakeholders in order to stem the tide.

"In order to overcome this malady, appropriate enlightenment on the evil of counterfeiting needs to be provided to the people while adequate anti-counterfeiting laws should be enacted to check perpetrators", Sanusi proffered.

On the clamour for lower denomination notes, Sanusi said the growing network recorded by Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) encouraged higher denomination notes.

He said banks do not find it commercially viable to stock their machines with lower denomination notes because they run out sooner and increase both the capital cost and operating costs.

In his remarks, the Director-General of WAIFEM, Professor Akpan Ekpo, also decried currency counterfeiting worldwide but admitted that it is as old as money itself.

The post Currency counterfeiting: Sanusi decries high incidence in West Africa appeared first on Peoples Daily Newspaper, Nigeria.

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[Shola Sholaz]

Currency counterfeiting doesn't really make any sense. Lamido Sanusi has made the right statement by saying this...