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29 March 2024

Fake currency: Exchange staff acquitted

Published
By Joseph George

An Indian arrested in Sharjah for issuing fake Indian currency has been acquitted by the Union Supreme Court.

The court on Thursday found the 34-year old employee of a leading money exchange firm not guilty.

Narrating the sequence of events, R., who is in his mid-thirties, says the problems started when the wife of an NRI was arrested in India for possessing fake Indian currency worth Rs7,000.

The woman had got the money through her husband, who had exchanged it from the currency exchange in Sharjah and issued by R.

“Seven of the fifteen notes were identified as fake. But anyone who looks through a naked eye will not be able to distinguish between original and fake currency,” he says.

The woman’s husband then filed a case at the Sharjah Al Garb police station, who arrested R. who was then clueless about the fake currency.

“Later on, they searched my counter and found many more fake notes, all Indian currency. At that time, we did not have machines that could scan and detect fake notes. But since then, the company has purchased the software and installed it on all machines,” he says.

Father of a three-year-old girl, R. says that even as his time in the prison was depressing, “I was hopeful that I would be eventually cleared.”

Mahmoud Alavi, of Mohammed Salman legal consultants, says this case, like all similar cases, was directly taken up by the Union Supreme Court.

“The court dismissed the case against R. on October 19 and he was finally released from prison the next day,” says Alavi.

R. is now free and his employers have promised to reinstate him into the job and pay him all his dues, including the salary during the time he spent in the prison.

How to spot fake Indian rupee notes

According to the Reserve Bank of India, bank notes contain distinct easily recognisable security features to facilitate the detection of genuine notes with forgeries.

Here are the top tips:

Watermark: The banknotes contain the Mahatma Gandhi watermark with a light and shade effect and multi-directional lines in the watermark window.

Security thread: Rs1,000 notes introduced in October 2000 contain a readable, windowed security thread alternately visible on the obverse with the inscriptions ‘Bharat’ (in Hindi), ‘1000’ and ‘RBI’, but totally embedded on the reverse.

The Rs500 and Rs100 notes have a security thread with similar visible features and inscription ‘Bharat’ (in Hindi), and ‘RBI’. When held against the light, the security thread on Rs1,000, Rs500 and Rs.100 can be seen as one continuous line.

The Rs5, Rs10, Rs20 and Rs50 notes contain a readable, fully embedded windowed security thread with the inscription ‘Bharat’ (in Hindi), and ‘RBI’. The security thread appears to the left of the Mahatma's portrait. Notes issued prior to the introduction of the Mahatma Gandhi Series have a plain, non-readable fully embedded security thread.

Latent Image: On the obverse side of Rs1,000, Rs500, Rs100, Rs50 and Rs20 notes, a vertical band on the right side of the Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait contains a latent image showing the respective denominational value in numeral. The latent image is visible only when the note is held horizontally at eye level.

Microlettering: This feature appears between the vertical band and Mahatma Gandhi portrait. It contains the word ‘RBI’ in Rs5 and Rs10. The notes of Rs20 and above also contain the denominational value of the notes in microletters. This feature can be seen better under a magnifying glass.

Intaglio Printing: The portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, the Reserve Bank seal, guarantee and promise clause, Ashoka Pillar Emblem on the left, RBI Governor's signature are printed in intaglio i.e., in raised prints, which can be felt by touch, in Rs20, Rs50, Rs100, Rs500 and Rs1,000 notes.

Identification mark: A special feature in intaglio has been introduced on the left of the watermark window on all notes except Rs10 note. This feature is in different shapes for various denominations (Rs20-Vertical Rectangle, Rs50-Square, Rs100-Triangle, Rs500-Circle, Rs1,000-Diamond) and helps the visually impaired to identify the denomination.

Fluorescence: Number panels of the notes are printed in fluorescent ink. The notes also have optical fibres. Both can be seen when the notes are exposed to ultra-violet lamp as shown below.

Optically Variable Ink: This is a new security feature incorporated in the Rs1,000 and Rs500 notes with revised colour scheme introduced in November 2000. The numeral 1000 and 500 on the obverse of Rs1000 and Rs500 notes respectively is printed in optically variable ink viz., a colour-shifting ink. The colour of the numeral 1000/500 appears green when the note is held flat but would change to blue when the note is held at an angle.

See-through Register: The small floral design printed both on the front (hollow) and back (filled up) of the note in the middle of the vertical band next to the Watermark has an accurate back to back registration. The design will appear as one floral design when seen against the light.