DENPASAR

Counterfeit banknotes are becoming more common in Bali, bank officials said, and risk damaging the economy.

Head of Bank Indonesia (BI) in Denpasar, Jefrey Kairupan, said there seemed to have been a year-on-year increase in the number of fake bills in circulation.

“Circulation of counterfeit money is increasing in Bali. If no control is imposed against it then international trust in the rupiah will fall,” he said.

A total of 2,800 fake banknotes were found in Bali in 2010, up from 1,800 in 2005.

Kairupan said punishments for counterfeiting were generally light and did not act as a sufficient deterrent.

“Our records show that counterfeiters have only been sentenced to imprisonment of less than a year,” he said.

Meanwhile, Agoes Putranto of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) warned that counterfeiting was a threat to the state, and needed to be taken seriously.

“Currency symbolises state sovereignty. Counterfeiting may pose a strategic threat toward the state,” he said.

He said a total of 170 counterfeiting operations had been found in the last five years across Indonesia.