The Deutsche Bundesbank has shelved a prospective cooperative venture with the Central Bank of Bangladesh regarding counterfeit prevention until further notice. This decision was triggered by press reports that Bangladesh is planning to threaten to impose the death penalty for serious cases of counterfeiting.

In 2012, the Bundesbank detected approximately 41,500 counterfeit euro banknotes. This means that the number of counterfeits rose – albeit from a low level (2011: 39,000) – by around 6.4% on the year.

In the first half of 2012, the Bundesbank detected approximately 19,000 counterfeit euro banknotes in German payments. This means that the number of counterfeits fell by 5% compared with the second half of 2011.