Police seize 'high-quality' fake 100 yuan notes

Police in Zhejiang province have seized an undisclosed number of high-quality counterfeit yuan notes said to look more realistic than any fake cash in recent memory.

An investigation in Xiaoshan district, Hangzhou, uncovered the latest fake 100 yuan (HK$122) banknotes, according to Nanfang Daily .

The new counterfeits were reportedly of a higher quality than those found in an infamous batch uncovered in 2008.

According to the report, the counterfeit banknotes sprung up in Yongshun county, Hunan, and quickly spread to other regions.

The latest counterfeit banknotes appeared to have been produced with much-improved technology. Nanfang Daily said police found features on the fake currency such as a watermark, an anti-forgery strip and identical symmetrical symbols, as found on genuine money.

Police in Foshan, Guangdong.warned the public to look out for the notes, urging people to check the serial numbers.

They were told they could identify real banknotes by their bold red colour, darker than on counterfeit ones. The surface texture of fake banknotes also feels tends to feel flat. The background colour of the watermark of a real yuan note is white, but it was black on the fake ones. It was also reported that, on fake notes, the left eyebrow and left eye of Mao Zedong appeared to be attached.

Last month, Foshan's court passed jail terms and death sentences in the cases of 15 members of a fake-money ring busted in 2009.