Hong Kong Police Arrest Woman Over Counterfeit Cash

Hong Kong police currently have a counterfeit cash problem on their hands.

A 53-year-old woman was recently arrested for allegedly attempting to deposit several fake bills into her account on Monday (December 23). As fears about the counterfeit currency spread, many area business are refusing to accept HK$1,000 banknotes.

Global Post reports that a eagle-eyed bank teller spotted the fake bills when the suspect attempted to deposit HK$300,000 in an unidentified account. It’s currently unknown if the woman was aware she was in possession of several counterfeit banknotes at the time.

Hong Kong police are reportedly asking folks to turn over any suspected counterfeits to the authorities. Even people who unknowingly use the fake cash could face charges of “passing counterfeit notes,” an offense that could land them behind bars for around 14 years. In other words, it’s not worth the risk.

According to the South China Morning Post, retailers are presently turning away any HK$1,000 banknotes out of fear that they could end up with a batch of counterfeit bills. While some shops are avoiding the currency altogether, others won’t accept 2003 notes featuring the names of HSBC and Bank of China.

Despite growing concerns over the counterfeit bills, Hong Kong Monetary Authority management department executive director Howard Lee said there’s no reason for the general public to get too worked up over the problem. However, having bills examined at a local bank probably isn’t a bad idea.

“Some people rushed to banks to change their banknotes, but it was done in an orderly way. Citizens have responded calmly so far,” he explained during a recent press conference.

The recent arrest in Hong Kong took place at Wing Lung Bank branch in North Point. Out of the ten counterfeit bills that were seized, three were Bank of China notes while the other seven were HSBC notes. Inspectors said the fake bills were extremely authentic.

“Police will strengthen the intelligence gathering and cooperation with the law enforcement agencies and relevant stakeholders especially the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the banks to combat the counterfeit currencies in Hong Kong,” officials said in a recent release.

Hong Kong isn’t the only place in China affected by the rash of counterfeit banknotes. In addition to the 22 notes seized in HK, authorities in Macao recovered 28 fake bills. Banks in these territories are currently in the process of removing the 2003 series from circulation.

[Image via Wikimedia Commons]