MP tables question on forgers; 2 new arrests
An opposition MP yesterday tabled a question in Parliament concerning the proliferation of forged banknotes in Greece, as police in Thessaloniki announced the arrest of another two men caught with counterfeit bills. New Democracy’s Aris Spiliotopoulos asked Economy Minister Nikos Christodoulakis what action the ministry was taking to address the problem, and claimed banks have been known to pass on forged notes to their customers. «This is a major problem, as counterfeiters are using advanced forging systems to produce notes which can even fool the detectors used by banks,» Spiliotopoulos said. Two men have been arrested in Thessaloniki for passing 51 counterfeit 200-euro notes to a cashier at a National Bank branch. They claimed to have obtained the notes from a relative in Cyprus. Last week, also in Thessaloniki, a Bulgarian national was caught with 409 forged 200-euro notes.
