Brussels, 18/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - According to information published by the Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) on Tuesday, there were almost three times as many counterfeit euro coins in 2004. More than 74,000 counterfeit euro coins were removed from circulation by National Central Banks (64,603 two euro coins, 9,103 coins of one euro, and 858 fifty centime coins), compared to 26,191 in 2003 and 2,339 in 2002. OLAF explains that the rise in the number of counterfeit coins detected was accompanied by a rising number in the origins and types of counterfeit euro coins. However, the total number of counterfeit euro coins found in circulation is “still by far lower than the overall number of counterfeit coins of legacy currencies before the introduction of the euro”, OLAF assures, stating that 55 billion of authentic euro coins are in circulation.
According to the announcements made by relevant national authorities, three forgery workshops were dismantled in 2004, two in Italy and one in Spain, and 80,000 counterfeit coins were seized before they were put into circulation. Germany's national side is the most frequently reproduced, followed by the sides of France, Spain, Belgium,, Italy, Austria, Netherlands, Ireland, Greece and Luxembourg.