Counterfeit notes worth 48 million euros found in Neapolitan printing house

Naples police have found almost a million counterfeit notes worth 48 million euros in a local printing house. Seven suspects have been arrested.

Neapolitan police found almost a million counterfeit 50 euro notes in a printing house in Naples. The notes were printed twelve by one on more than 80,000 large sheets of paper. The counterfeiters still had to cut out the banknotes and provide them with a silver-colored strip. This is intended to distinguish counterfeit money from real money.

The court estimates the value of the notes at 48 million euros. The Guardia di Finanza, the financial police service, shared a video on X showing the sheets of paper with the notes.

According to the police, the notes were of remarkably good quality. The counterfeiters used an offset process that provides better quality than digital printing. During the raid, the police arrested seven suspects, including the suspected ringleader of the counterfeiting ring.

Over the past five years, the Guardia di Finanza has seized more than 100 million euros when dismantling five counterfeiter workshops.