Notes to change to stop FICN

In a concerted effort to curb the menace of fake Indian currency notes (FICN), the government is likely to bring in more foolproof safety measures in the notes. Sources said the terror funding and fake currency cell (TFFC) of the National Investigation Agency has been mandated to suggest measures and bring in more stringent changes in the currency notes that would be difficult to duplicate.

The TFFC is the nodal agency that co-ordinates with other Central and state security agencies to crack down on circulation of fake currency. Sources said over the last few months the cell has been carrying out a detailed analysis of fake currency seizures made across the country and in most cases it was observed that subversive elements had managed to achieve a great deal of professionalism in producing the fake currency.

“The bulk of the fake currency being pumped into India is being done by operatives of Pakistan’s ISI or members of the Dawood Ibrahim gang like Aftab Batki, who is the key person regulating this business of the D-company. There is no doubt that ISI has been helping the D-company with producing FICN and that is precisely the reason why they are of such good quality, particularly the paper and ink,’’ a senior home ministry official said.

Intelligence sources said they had zeroed down on one such facility on the outskirts of Karachi where the ISI was helping the D-company print the FICN. It is suspected that the bulk of the good quality FICN being smuggled into India is being printed at the Karachi facility.

Sources said on basis of the study conducted by the TFFC, it is going to recommend changing both the paper and ink being used at various mints across the country.

In addition, it would suggest putting in two security threads instead of the one and some more safety marks which would be visible through the ultra violent light making it extremely difficult to copy. In the last three years, 2013 to 15, various state police and the Central intelligence have seized almost `110 crore of fake currency.

“Though there is no centralised data on how fake currency is in circulation, the figure could be anywhere between `30,000 to `50,000 crore; this is not good for the economy. So we need to put in a great system of checks and balances not in terms of cracking down on subversive elements but introducing changes to make duplication more difficult,’’ the intelligence official said.

The home ministry data related to seizure of fake currency reveals that maximum arrests, cases and seizures have been reported from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

“If you see the data there is a pattern to it. In case of Assam and Arunachal it is clear that FICN are being smuggled in from the Bangladesh border. Delhi being the major centre for hawala network and Mumbai being the financial capital is the reason for high number of cases in Maharashtra and the national capital. While in the case of UP, it has a wide network of sleeper cells of the banned outfit SIMI which provides logistical support for such activities. Tamil Nadu is an interesting case since it seems FICN there is smuggled through the sea route via Sri Lanka,’’ another ministry official added.