'Compromised' template reason behind fake notes: CBI

New Delhi, Aug 13 (PTI) The secret template India uses to
print currency notes has been "compromised" and that is
possibly why fake but real-looking Indian currency notes are
being pumped in, says the Central Bureau of Investgation, to
subvert the country's economy.

The CBI, the nodal agency for checking fake notes, has now
formed a special team comprising its sleuths and officials
from the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the Reserve Bank
of India and the Central Forensic Science Laboratory to find
out how and at what level the design got "compromised".

"Our investigations have revealed that the 2005 secret
security template which was introduced as part of the new
design adopted then has been compromised," CBI Director
Ashwini Kumar said.

Asked, if the country was still using the security
template, he said, "yes".

By using the word "compromised" the CBI means that
the counterfeiters have deep knowledge about the kind of
special ink, paper and other ingredients that go into the
making of notes.
Giving details of the investigation team, CBI spokesperson
Harsh Bhal said "a special team has been formed which consist
of officers from CBI, DRI, RBI and CFSL."

"The team will investigate how and at what level the
security template has been compromised," he said.

Sources said said the ink and paper that go into the
making of currency notes are currently being imported from
foreign countries which is a "matter of concern."

Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar had earlier this
month chaired a high-level meeting on the issue of fake Indian
currency notes (FICN) that was attended by representatives
from the RBI, IB, DRI, ED, CBI, CEIB, the Customs and the
paramilitary forces, among others.

It was decided at the meeting to take up the issue of
FICN with the European countries, including Britain, which are
exporting ink and currency paper to Pakistan from where most
of the counterfeits originate.

Media reports suggest that FICN even bore authentic
series codes indicating the deep knowledge of anti-national
elements about the security features.

The CBI is also creating a national data bank of fake
currencies, sources said, which they believe will help trace
the origin of the fake notes and the areas in which it has
been circulated.

The government is also indigenising the production of a
special paper to print the Rs 500 notes, the most frequently
counterfeited currency in the country.

The Security Paper Mill at Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh,
which is responsible for manufacturing currency papers for
lower denomination and non-judicial stamp papers, has received
the nod from the Ministry of Finance to produce papers on
which the Rs 500 notes could be printed. PTI SAP
DDC
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