Euro banknotes lose currency with counterfeiters

FRANKFURT: The euro lost currency with criminals last year. The amount of fake money found in 2012 fell by 12.4 percent to 531,000 bills from the previous year, the European Central Bank said on Thursday.

"When compared with the number of genuine euro banknotes in circulation (on average 14.9 billion during the second half of 2012), the proportion of counterfeits remains very low," the ECB said in a statement.

The 20- and 50-euro banknotes remain counterfeiters' favourites, accounting for more than 4 out of 5 fake bills.

Center>Copyright Reuters, 2013