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Fake 10,000 franc in circulation
22 May 2002 - Panic has gripped West Africa over the circulation of fake 10,000 franc bank notes (each worth 14.2 U.S. dollars) since late March. Some “100 million francs (around 142,857 U.S. dollars) in fake 10,000 franc bank notes have been withdrawn in all eight member countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) since 23 Mar,” said Mr Bakary Lansina.
Mr Lansina, who is the manager of the Abidjan-based Central Bank of West African States, with French acronym BCEAO, said in Cote d’Ivoire alone on 30 April, they seized 13 million fake bank notes (worth around 18,571 U.S. dollars)”. The first fake bank note bills were discovered in Cotonou, Benin on 23 March and later in Lome, Togo on 26, before being detected in other WAEMU countries. WAEMU comprises Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.
A total of 1,852 fake 10,000 franc bank notes, totalling 15.820 million francs (around 22,600 U.S. dollars) were identified in Lome by the Country’s Central Bank when Ecobank-Togo was depositing funds. Shortly thereafter, Mr Ali Nassr, a Lebanese national, was picked up in Lome where he - according to police - confessed to have shipped 52 million francs (around 74,285.7 U.S. dollars) to Benin.
Another Lebanese citizen, Mr Mahmoud Toufic Rmeiti, suspected of being ringleader of the counterfeit traffic, had operated in the region for several years, according to the police. Police has accused Mr Rmeiti, 38, of being behind the 1,852 counterfeit bills identified in Lome. He is also suspected of having deposited 15,220 million francs worth fake bills (around 21.742.8 U.S. dollars) into his bank account on 22 March and of having withdrawn, shortly thereafter, 15.471 million francs (around 22.101 U.S. dollars).
Four days later, on Mar 26, he deposited 9.650 million francs worth of counterfeit bills (around 13.785.7 U.S. dollars) into his Lome bank account, and that he wanted to withdraw, a few hours later, 7.143 million francs (around 10.204 U.S. dollars). Sought by both the Beninois and Togolese police, Rmeiti, fled to Europe before returning to Lebanon. On 5 April, a Togolese judge issued an international warrant for his arrest.
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