Euro counterfeits fall by 13%

The number of counterfeit euro banknotes fell by 13% in the first half of this year, European Central Bank (ECB) statistics published on Monday showed.

The number of forged notes seized fell from 447,000 in the second half of 2009 to 387,000 in the six months to June. The figure is the lowest since the second half of 2008, when 354,000 notes were seized.

The increase in fake notes comes at a time when the number of legitimate euro banknotes has risen by 3.1%, going from 12.8 billion from the end