UAH 200, UAH 500 and UAH 100 banknotes most often counterfeited in 2023

According to the results of 2023, the level of counterfeiting of national currency banknotes remained low.

This is evidenced by the monitoring of the withdrawal of national currency banknotes from circulation in Ukraine for 2023, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

So, according to the results of last year by 1 million pcs. real hryvnia banknotes accounted for about 2.1 counterfeit banknotes (according to the results of 2022 - about 2.2 banknotes).

For comparison: according to the information of the European Central Bank, this indicator in the countries of the European Union in 2023 is almost eight times higher and amounted to approximately 16 euro banknotes (according to the results of 2022 - 13 banknotes).

Most often, in 2023, old-style banknotes were counterfeited, in particular, the majority (93%) of counterfeits removed from circulation were banknotes of three denominations:

- UAH 200 (61% of the total number of seized counterfeits and 41% of their total amount);

- UAH 500 (24% and 41%, respectively);

- UAH 100 (8% and 3%, respectively).

Other counterfeit hryvnia banknotes withdrawn from circulation accounted for only 7%.

As a result, according to the monitoring results of 2023, counterfeit hryvnia banknotes of the new model make up only 18% of the total number of counterfeits seized in the banking system of Ukraine.

Accordingly, for every 1 million real hryvnia banknotes of the new model, the number of counterfeit ones was only 0.4.

This is due to the strengthened system of protection of the national currency banknotes of the new generation, in particular the high denominations of 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 hryvnias, which the National Bank put into circulation in 2015-2020.

To protect these banknotes, which most often attract the attention of criminals, innovative optically variable security elements are used: they are easy for citizens to check, and extremely difficult for criminals to reproduce.

For the most part, counterfeit banknotes of the national currency withdrawn from circulation were of low quality and were calculated on the inattention of citizens and cashiers of trade establishments.

Knowing the elements of protection of hryvnia banknotes and carefully checking them during calculations minimizes the risks of receiving counterfeits.

The protection elements present on the hryvnia banknotes make it possible to guarantee the detection of counterfeit banknotes during their careful visual and tactile control without the use of special equipment.

Thus, the authenticity of the banknote is checked in the following way: 1) by touch - the banknote paper and the relief of individual images on the front side of the banknote, which is provided by a special type of printing, are checked; 2) visually checked against the light:

- presence of watermarks (a multi-tone watermark - an image of a portrait that repeats the portrait printed on the front side of the banknote, and a light element of the watermark - an image of the digital designation of the denomination or the graphic sign of the national monetary unit of Ukraine – the hryvnia);

- the presence of a through element (combined image) - a fragmentary image of the digital designation of the denomination, made from the front and back sides, acquires a complete appearance without breaks and shifts when examining the banknote against the light;

- the presence of a protective tape completely immersed in the thickness of the paper, on which, with the help of a magnifying glass, when examining the banknote against the light, you can see in a straight and inverted form the image of the digital designation of the denomination, the inscription “ГРН” [HRN] and the image of the small State Coat of Arms of Ukraine (trident);

3) by changing the angle of inclination, the banknotes are visually checked:

- images made with optically variable paints that change color when looking at the banknote from different angles (on medium and high denomination banknotes of the 2003-2007 model and new banknotes with denominations of 20 hryvnias of the 2018 model and 50 hryvnias of the 2019 model) and have the kinetic effect of the gradual transition of one color to another (the SPARK element is found on banknotes in denominations of 100, 200, 500 and 1,000 hryvnias of the 2014-2019 sample);

- "window" (partially inserted into the thickness of the paper) polymer protective tape of the appropriate color (on banknotes with a denomination of 100 hryvnias of the 2014 sample - brown, 200 hryvnias of the 2019 sample - blue, with a denomination of 500 hryvnias of the 2015 sample - dark gray, 1,000 hryvnias of the sample 2019 - purple), containing the image of the digital designation of the banknote denomination and the graphic sign of the hryvnia (in banknotes with a denomination of UAH 100-500), an image of the small State Coat of Arms of Ukraine (in banknotes of UAH 1,000). When changing the angle of inclination of banknotes, a pronounced kinetic effect of changing the direction of movement of the background images of the tape is observed;

- latent image of the digital designation of the denomination, visible when viewing the banknote at eye level against light at an acute angle (dark on a light background when viewing the banknote from the long side, light and dark background - from the short side).

A detailed description of all banknotes of the national currency in circulation and their security features is posted on the official Internet representation of the National Bank.

The level of counterfeiting of foreign currency notes was also low last year.

For 2023 banks and financial institutions throughout Ukraine removed less than seven hundred counterfeit foreign currency banknotes from circulation (in 2022 - about six hundred).

Among counterfeit foreign currency banknotes withdrawn from circulation in 2023, US dollars dominated - 97% of the total number of counterfeit foreign currency banknotes withdrawn from circulation.

Last year, euro banknotes accounted for only 3% of seized counterfeit foreign currency banknotes.

Most often, criminals counterfeited foreign banknotes of the following denominations:

- 100 and 50 US dollars (92% and 7% of the total amount of confiscated counterfeit US dollars);

- 50 and 200 euros (39% and 30% of the total amount of seized counterfeit euros).

When making cash payments or currency exchange transactions, you should always be careful, take your time and try to check several banknote security features.

If there are doubts about the authenticity and payability of hryvnia and foreign currency banknotes, citizens can contact the banks that hand over these banknotes for research to the National Bank.

Based on the results of such studies, which are carried out free of charge, customers are reimbursed the corresponding amount of banknotes of the national currency, recognized as genuine and payable.

Foreign currency banknotes recognized as genuine are returned to the owner.

Counterfeit banknotes are withdrawn without reimbursement of their value.

The National Bank notifies the law enforcement agencies about their seizure, all counterfeit banknotes are handed over to their authorized employees for investigation in the established manner.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the level of counterfeiting of national currency banknotes decreased 3.2 times in 2022.

So, according to the results of last year, there were about 2.2 counterfeit banknotes per 1 million pieces of real hryvnia banknotes (according to the results of 2021 - about 7.1 banknotes).

According to the information of the European Central Bank, this indicator in the countries of the European Union in 2022 is almost six times higher and amounted to approximately 13 euro banknotes (according to the results of 2021 - 12 banknotes).