Prosecutors search largest counterfeiter of plastic banknotes in the world; the “Super-Leu” has been created

The DIICOT (Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism) on Wednesday carried out five home searches in Bucharest and Busteni Town in a case related to the dismantling of a criminal ring that forged 17,065 banknotes with the face value of 100 lei, the damage amounting to approximately 1,706,500 Lei.

DIICOT claims that the leader of this group has managed to produce the best fakes in Romania's history and to become the largest counterfeiter of plastic banknotes in the world.

According to a press release of DIICOT, the respective ring is specialized in committing counterfeit currency crimes, aiding and abetting in counterfeit currency crimes, putting fake values into circulation, owning instruments designed to counterfeit values, deception offences and aiding and abetting in deception offences.

The prosecutors claim that, in the spring of 2014, three persons created an organised criminal ring to commit counterfeit money crimes, put into circulation fake values, owning instruments designed to produce counterfeit values and to deceive people, a group that continues to operate in the present, with a documented counterfeiting activity that resulted in the production of 17,065 banknotes with the face value of 100 lei, the damage amounting to approximately 1,706,500 lei.

"The leader of the group coordinated the other members, being involved in the procurement/owning of the necessary materials and instruments for producing the counterfeit values, counterfeit currencies and putting them into circulation, deceiving thus several persons. Investigations showed that, in a short amount of time, the leader of the group managed to produce the best counterfeit goods in the Romanian history and to become the largest counterfeiter of plastic banknotes in the world," said DIICOT.

Three persons will be brought to the DIICOT Headquarters for hearings.

The operation benefited from the support of the judiciary police officers from the Department for Combating Organised Crime, the Europol officers, the officers from the National Institute of Criminalistics, the specialists from the National Bank of Romania and gendarmes.

The specialized support was ensured by the Special Operations Department.