By Ndumbe Bell Joseph Gaston in Douala
It was hoped that new series of banknotes put into circulation was going to ground the circulation of counterfeit banknote trafficking in the CEMAC zone.
Thus, when the reports were disclosed that on May 7 and 13, two senior executives of BEAC agency in Ebebiyin in Equatorial Guinea were arrested for their alleged involvement in counterfeit banknote trafficking, the public received the news with consternation, disbelief and described the act as outrageous.
In an encounter between the new BEAC Governor Yvon Sama Bangui in line with media reports, some excerpts of their discussions were reported.
When asked whether he, the Governor of BEAC, was aware of the scandal involving the manufacture and circulation of counterfeit money in Equatorial Guinea, Sama Bangui said they were well aware of the arrests of the Director of the agency and the Head of the Monetary Issuance Department of this centre, which occurred respectively on May 7 and 13, 2024.
Since then, he continued, they were being detained by police authorities. The BEAC governor detailed that they were accused of alleged involvement in counterfeit banknote trafficking in complicity with military and police figures stationed both in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. He said that BEAC was cooperating with the authorities of Equatorial Guinea to shed light on the matter.
In another issue asked the BEAC governor that threw doubts that by this scandal, the public could not enjoy the confidence that the range of banknotes in circulation are no longer secure nor reassuring, the Governor seemed very categorical. He said that the new range of banknotes put into circulation on December 15, 2022 were made from the latest technologies in terms of visible and invisible security signs in order to make them virtually tamper-proof.
Yvon Sama Bangui expounded that there are visible signs such as holograms, micro prints, security threads, inks with varying colours depending on the angle of incidence of the light, intaglio prints (etc)…which makes the notes authenticated.
The BEAC governor sensitised that the counterfeiters always take advantage of the launch of a new range of banknotes to introduce false denominations because during this period, certain users do not yet master all the characteristics of the security signs which make it possible to recognise a banknote with certainty.
Sama Bangui also explained that “Generally, counterfeiters choose remote towns or villages in border regions where populations with little education and information live to introduce the fake denominations. In this way, counterfeits can find their way into the normal economic circuit (mainstream) or through weekly markets, local shops and so on. More over the analysis of counterfeit notes seized in certain countries of the sub-region have revealed that they are imitations. To date the quantities seized represent a tiny proportion. Since the arrests, the bank took a number of measures to ensure continuity.”