The Hong Kong Monetary Authority will give top priority to replacing the banknotes issued by HSBC in 2000 and 2002 that seem to be a favorite target of counterfeiters but has stopped short of ordering a recall.Chief executive Joseph Yam Chi- kwong said the number of such notes in circulation, issued between 2000 and 2002, is "quite small."
He said joint seminars have been organized by the authority and the Commercial Crimes Bureau to educate frontline staff at banks, retailers and foreign-currency dealers on how to detect counterfeit notes, with the first of these to be held Friday.
Seven seminars are scheduled to be held before the end of this month.
Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen said it was not the first time the city had been hit by a wave of counterfeit banknotes and that common characteristics among the fraudulent notes made their detection easier.
Reiterating there will be no recall of HK$1,000 banknotes issued by HSBC between 2000 and 2002, the financial secretary also said that such notes would not allowed to go back into general circulation.
He said people who have such banknotes will not have to surrender them as there are still many legitimate bills in circulation.
Commissioner of Police Tang King- shing confirmed investigations so far indicated the forged notes came from outside the city.
He said the investigation, led by the Commercial Crimes Bureau, has been joined by authorities from Macau, the mainland and overseas. As of Monday, t
he number of counterfeit banknotes that have been intercepted remains at 710. The number of arrests also remains at 12.Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong told lawmakers that various departments have stepped up their investigations and efforts after the discovery of the fake notes.
Civic Party legislator and barrister Audrey Eu Yuet-mee, a member of the Legislative Council security panel, said she is satisfied with government efforts to detect the counterfeit notes and combat the counterfeiters.
Confronted with a lack of statistics to gauge efforts and to identify trends, Eu said she hoped a quick compilation of facts would make sure all areas were covered.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Retail Management Association confirmed some of its members have been paid in counterfeit banknotes.
But the association said that while it will hold regular workshops to help members detect counterfeits of multiple currencies, retailers should not refuse to accept HK$1,000 bills, which are still legal tender.
With most businesses relying on frontline workers as gatekeepers, the association is also advocating internal training to help them identify and combat counterfeits at payment points.
Steve Vickers, president and chief executive of International Risk, a risk mitigation and investigative company, said high-level denominations are always favored by counterfeiters.
He said the run-up to the Lunar New Year was the prime time for the introduction of counterfeit notes into the money system as many people were changing notes or looking for new ones.
Withdrawal of the notes from circulation is the most robust reaction to counterfeits that banks can muster, he said, adding the subsequent increase of scrutiny over circulating currency will make the counterfeiter's life more difficult.
"It may damage their return on investment as the wholesale price of volume purchases of fake notes may drop because of the added risk of detection, a sort of counterfeiters' reverse risk premium," he said.
A police hotline, 2860-5012, has been set up for the public to report suspicious notes.
