LYON, France - Representatives from the US Secret Service, law enforcement and security printing industries met at INTERPOL’s General Secretariat in Lyon on 26 July to discuss how to deal with a highly-deceptive form of counterfeit US currency known as the 'Supernote'.
Reported to be manufactured in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), the Supernote is a high-quality counterfeit of the 50-dollar and 100-dollar note, also known as a Superdollar. The notes are produced using similar processes and materials as genuine US currency.
More than 60 people attended the one-day conference, where they heard briefings from representatives of the U.S. Secret Service and INTERPOL, and then met in smaller groups to discuss their concerns and potential safe guards against criminals obtaining the equipment to make counterfeit notes. Participants agreed to establish a working group to continue working together and establish specific ways to fight this crime.
'Today’s meeting was an example of law enforcement and industry partnering together to find a way to reduce the threat of counterfeit currency production on a large scale throughout the world,' said Jeffery Krivak, head of INTERPOL’s Counterfeits and Security Documents Branch.
First detected back in 1989, concerns over the Supernote have increased recently with media reports, law enforcement publications, and industry journals indicating that the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was responsible for the production and distribution. The US National Security Council has indicated that government officials from North Korea were engaged in distributing the notes.
In June, INTERPOL issued an Orange Notice – which warn about threats from weapons or dangerous objects – on the Supernote to inform law enforcement and industry leaders of the harms of this counterfeit currency.
The notes are highly deceptive, but are detectable. They circulate mostly outside the United States.
Of the $753 billion dollars worth of banknotes in circulation, some 60% circulate overseas. To date, some $50 million of this family of false notes have been found.