Destroying 1,293 Fake Money Sheets In Southeast Sulawesi, BI Predicts Its Cases Will Increase Ahead Of The 2024 General Election

The process of destroying counterfeit money in Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi. (Between/HO-BI Sultra)

SULTRA - Bank Indonesia (BI) Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra) Representative Office destroyed 1,293 counterfeit bills circulating in Southeast Sulawesi.

Head of the BI Southeast Sulawesi Representative Office, Doni Septadijaya, said that the thousands of counterfeit bills destroyed were money that had been circulating from 2020 to October 2023.

"It was just carried out again because only a coordination meeting (rakor) had been stopped in 2019. In the future, this coordination meeting will be carried out routinely. 92 percent of these counterfeit money findings were reported by banks and when BI conducted processing separating money that was suitable for distribution and not worthy of distribution," Doni said on the sidelines of the 'Forum for the Coordinating Board for the Eradication of Counterfeit Rupiah' at a hotel in Kendari City, Tuesday, October 31, was confiscated by Antara.

He explained that the findings of counterfeit money in the Bumi Anoa area until October 2023 were 302 pieces

According to him, the findings of counterfeit money in Southeast Sulawesi from January to October 2023 were 302 pieces. This is predicted to increase because it is ahead of the 2024 General Election.

"There is a potential risk of an increase in counterfeit money, there are still several months in 2023 ending so we have to watch out for it in 2024, because the more cash circulating, the more counterfeit money will be circulating," said Doni.

He said that the destruction of counterfeit money was a mandate from Law Number 7 of 2011 concerning Currency and Presidential Regulation (Perpres) of the Republic of Indonesia (RI) Number 123 of 2012 concerning the Coordinating Board for the Eradication of Rupiah.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Regional State Intelligence Agency (Kabinda) of Southeast Sulawesi Brigadier General Raden Toto Oktaviana hopes that these activities can become a forum for joint synergizing in taking action or handling counterfeit money in the field, especially in the Southeast Sulawesi region.

"BIN, Kejari, and Bi, if they find counterfeit money, they already know how to act and investigate," he concluded.