BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - AS a number of islands within the OECS have and or will be celebrating Carnival, Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine is urging their citizens and residents to be on the lookout for counterfeit currency.
That plea comes against the backdrop of counterfeit currency popping up in Antigua and Barbuda, and the Governor has stressed that during festive seasons, such as Carnival and Christmas, they often make an appearance.
Addressing the concern at the end of the ECCB’s Website launch, Governor Antoine told the Labour Spokesman that over the last several years the financial institution had invested heavily in the security features of the currency, noting that it is not easily counterfeited.
However, despite those measures being implemented, the bank still sees persons making counterfeit attempts during festive seasons.
“We normally see a peak in activity or attempts to counterfeit the currency. So we are on guard and we have alerted our countries; we did a recent media release on that and we, of course, work with the police,” Governor Antoine said.
He is urging the public that “if you see something, say something”.
SKNVibes understands that in recent times counterfeit currency has popped up in St. Kitts and Nevis, but the Governor has reiterated that if anyone has such notes in their possession to pass them over to the police immediately.
Further, Antoine stated that upon receipt of the notes, the police would then be in touch with the bank through their agency’s office and the relevant department would look at it and make a determination.
“There is a protocol that we follow where we identify counterfeit currency or they suspect that something may be counterfeit.”
With the problem not being wide spread in the Currency Union, Antoine noted that there is no particular concern at the moment that it would affect the overall strength of the dollar, but he pointed out that they do not want to see any counterfeit note passing through the sub-region.
“Typically, when that happens, somebody loses [whether it] be the vendor, the shopkeeper, the supermarket owner or whatever. It is a challenge, but we do not see it as a direct threat to the stability, because it is not a wide spread phenomenon. That is why the security feature is there to protect the currency in a sense.”
Rosbert A. Humphrey, Deputy Director of the Currency Management Department, disclosed that persons should feel the bank notes, and if there is anything suspicious then it may be counterfeit.
Additionally, he explained that when the currency is placed before the light, it should reveal an imprinted image of the queen, while to the left of that there should be an ECCB seal.
“Any effort to duplicate, that wouldn’t come out. But we also have security thread, which appears to be in and out of the paper….” said Humphrey.
It was also noted that the bank would continue to monitor developments.
