Myanmar Counterfeit Notes Persist
Growing reports of counterfeit bank notes in Myanmar highlight mounting pressure on an economy already struggling with inflation and currency instability.
Fake bank notes? There is growing concern in the Myanmar state of Arakan (also known as Rakhine) that bogus money is in sufficient use to damage the local economy.
On January 9 of this year, the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) stated it would take legal action against anyone defacing its money. CBM deliberately restricts damaging or altering the appearance of currency notes, including cutting, tearing, writing, scribbling, stamping, drawing, or printing on the note that reduces its value and visibility under Section 99 (A) of the Central Bank of Myanmar Law. Furthermore, anyone writing on a note what the government determines to be something defaming or threatening the interest of national security or public safety would be fined or jailed for up to two years under Section 505 (B) of the Penal Code. The Central Bank of Myanmar law also prohibits counterfeiting.
Myanmar’s bank notes are printed at the state-run Security Printing Works in Wazi, Upper Burma. The printing facility was established in about 1972 with the assistance and guidance of the German security printing company Giesecke+Devrient. Following the 2021 Myanmar coup, Giesecke+Devrient stopped giving technical guidance to the facility. Prior to the establishment of that factory, Myanmar used De La Rue of London, England, and Nasile Security Printing Press in Bombay, India, for its bank note needs.
Due to inflation, many of the low-denomination bank notes still deemed to be legal tender in Myanmar are seldom used in circulation. Officially, the note denominations are half, 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 kyat. A 20,000-kyat note was valued at $9.52 at the time this article was written.
The World Bank reports Myanmar as having a nearly 30% inflation rate, the kyat being down 80% against the US dollar since the coup. The central bank provides credit to state accounts by metaphorically printing money via book entries. Physically printed bank notes are limited by a lack of quality paper as well as overworked printing plate fatigue.
Development Media Group (DMG) is a news agency covering the western Rakhine state. DMG also reports on human rights violations throughout Myanmar. In a March 25 posting, DMG reported Arakan citizens saying “fake [10,000-kyat] notes are increasingly mixed with genuine currency during everyday transactions, making them difficult to detect at first glance. Residents describe a situation where fake and genuine notes are mixed, making it difficult to tell them apart during routine buying and selling.”
According to DMG, the fakes can be identified by their uneven edges, washed-out colors, and the unusually thin and smooth paper on which they are printed. A printed color line is used as a substitute for the security thread on genuine notes.
DMG reported, “Locals are now urging the United League of Arakan, the political wing of the Arakan Army, to take stronger action to investigate and stop the circulation of fake bank notes in local markets and cash networks.”
The Arakan Army is one of the most powerful ethnic armies in Myanmar and is openly opposed to the junta ruling the country. Perhaps the Arakan Army can do what it appears the central bank may choose not to do.
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