In 2000, Canada ditched its $1,000 note. In 2014, Singapore stopped issuing its $10,000 note. Will The European Central Bank scrap the 500-euro note?
Crime-friendly €500 note
“The 500-euro note (one of the highest-valued in the world) is being viewed increasingly as an instrument for illegal activities… It has nothing to do with reducing cash”, said Mario Draghi, the President of the European Central Bank.
Why the criminal underworld loves the 500 Euro note – and why some want it banned. LISTEN: https://t.co/qPlUtgL5hZ pic.twitter.com/k86uE6n9CR
— BBC Business (@BBCBusiness) 16 février 2016
520 = 500
According to SOCA (Serious Organised Crime Agency), 90% of €500 notes in circulation are used by money launderers attempting to legitimise the profits of criminal gangs. Lawbreakers pay even +20 euros to get the €500 note.
They nickname the note “the Bin Laden”. It is also called “concentrato di pomodoro” (tomato purée) by the Italian Mafia.
€20,000 can be hidden easily inside a cigarette packet.
Total value of 500 EUR notes in circulation
Since the founding of the euro zone, the number of €10 and €20 notes has remained stable… The number of €500 notes in circulation has dramatically increased. There are currently €306.8bn worth of €500 bills in circulation.
$100 Bills May Soon Be Killed Off
It’s time to kill the $100 billhttps://t.co/nkFjGqtFQS pic.twitter.com/yA5BaTEF2w
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) 17 février 2016
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Editor in Chief Mehdi Chourou
