Counterfeiters manage to load bills worth EUR 240,000 into ATMs of Romanian bank

A bank in Romania incurred serious losses after its ATMs accepted counterfeit EUR 500 banknotes totaling roughly EUR 240,000. The bank’s ATMs only rejected six of the counterfeit banknotes.

Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) is currently conducting investigations into the case of counterfeit banknotes. Four house searches took place on Wednesday morning, May 3, in Bucharest.

"On May 3, officers from the Directorate for Combating Organized Crime - National Office for Combating Counterfeit Currency, together with DIICOT prosecutors - Central Structure, carried out 4 home searches in Bucharest in a case involving organized crime, circulation of counterfeit banknotes and fraud," the official press release says, cited by Digi24.

Prosecutors say that a bank in Romania incurred roughly EUR 240,000 in losses after 486 banknotes of EUR 500 were loaded into its ATMs over a period of three days. Only six banknotes were rejected by the ATMs, while the rest were accepted.

The type of counterfeit banknotes used is known throughout Europe for both their superior quality and the fact that they are impossible to detect with the naked eye.

Suspects would cover their faces and wear caps and hoods to avoid the bank's cameras.

Police have taken two persons to DIICOT headquarters for questioning. The Special Intervention Brigade of the Gendarmerie and the Canine Technical Unit of the Gendarmerie are participating in the operation. Specialized support was provided by DIICOT - Technical and Criminalistics Office.

(Photo source: IGPR)