KOCHI: Following the Reserve Bank of India’s detection of counterfeit currency notes within a shipment from the SBI currency chest in Kochi, the Ernakulam Central Police have taken action by initiating the registration of two separate cases. The discovered counterfeit notes were identified as they arrived from the SBI currency chest in Kochi. A total of 27 counterfeit notes, all bearing the denomination of Rs 500, were flagged during RBI Thiruvananthapuram’s examination of the currency received from Kochi.
Upon receipt of a complaint from RBI, the cases were officially registered, prompting the commencement of a thorough investigation. Currency from multiple branches of the bank is collected in currency chests, where the notes are securely stored. Subsequently, these accumulated notes are dispatched to the RBI Divisional office. In a recent incident, during the RBI’s verification of the received notes, the Thiruvananthapuram divisional office discovered counterfeit currency. A subsequent investigation revealed that these fraudulent notes originated from the SBI currency chests in Broadway Kochi. Following a complaint lodged by RBI officials, two cases have been registered, and a formal inquiry has been initiated,” stated a police officer.
Authorities suspect that these counterfeit notes may be of exceptionally high quality, which could have contributed to their evasion of detection within the bank’s currency chest. To trace the origin of the counterfeit currency, the police are diligently following the cash trail. The primary objective is to determine which specific branch of the bank inadvertently introduced the fake notes into the RBI’s currency supply chain. Officials are coordinating with the SBI currency chest in Kochi to gather vital information about the branches responsible for depositing cash into the chest. This initial phase of the investigation is currently underway, although progress has been hindered by the temporary closure of banks due to the Onam holidays.
Ordinarily, banks are equipped with counterfeit detection machines to identify fraudulent notes. However, given the presumed quality of these counterfeit notes, it is likely that they possess attributes that render them virtually indistinguishable from genuine currency, thereby evading conventional detection methods.
Meanwhile, the police will also inform the matter to Crime Branch which regularly probes cases related to counterfeit notes. The investigation is likely to be taken over by the Crime Branch after the preliminary case. “Usually, counterfeiting cases are probed by specialized agencies like Crime Branch due to its links with other states and foreign countries. It is the State Police Chief who decides on transferring the case to the Crime Branch,” he said.
According to data from the Kerala Police, a total of 21 counterfeiting cases were documented up until June of the current year. In the previous year, 35 such cases were reported within the state of Kerala. Notably, instances involving high-quality counterfeit currency often prompt intervention by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which takes over the investigation.