Police bust counterfeiters of high-quality €500 notes

After many years of work, the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime (GDBOP) has uncovered a criminal group in Shumen that was producing extremely high quality counterfeit banknotes, Commissioner Boyan Raev, Deputy Director of the GDBOP, told a briefing.

Three people were arrested. The counterfeit 50 lev, 500 euro and 50 US dollar notes were very elaborate. The 500 euro note is a so-called super counterfeit - of extremely high quality, with all the very high security features. It was discovered by Europol partners in several EU countries. The BGN 50 notes are of a quality that allows them to be accepted by ATMs, passing the machine check. The paper from which the counterfeit notes were made, as well as the inks, were mainly ordered from China and Turkey.