Bangladesh has assured India of full cooperation in tackling the menace of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN), which are also being used for funding human and drug trafficking and other nefarious activities in that country.
At the maiden meeting of the Joint Task Force on FICN held in Dhaka on August 12-13, the Bangladesh side told India they have put in place "stringent" measures for checking influx and circulation of fake notes that were also "adversely affecting" the former's economy, government sources said.
Bangladesh, represented by Additional Inspector General (Infrastructure and Administration) Mohammed Mokhlesum Rehman, said FICN was being used there for financing human and drug trafficking, besides several other anti-social activities.
"All these are active threats to Bangladesh's economy and could have negative consquences for the development of Bangladesh. Therefore, Bangladesh also has its own reasons to make its best efforts in curbing FICN racketeers operating there," sources said.
The Indian team, headed by Inspector General of National Investigation Agency Sanjeev K Singh, gave a detailed presentation on FICN racket.
"High-quality counterfeit currency is currently a favourable method being adopted by some state agencies to fund terrorist activities in India.
"Forensic analysis of the seized FICN clearly indicates that high-quality FICN is being produced on sophisticated currency printing machines, using equipment and raw material available only with sovereign states," the Indian side said.
The two sides agreed to share intelligence inputs on operatives engaged in circulating fake notes on real time basis.
Sources said India has agreed to provide note sorting machines with facility to detect fake currency at international airports, integrated crossing points, immigration points, banks and financial institutions in Bangladesh.
Besides, India will also help in setting up a Forensic Science Laboratory for examination of fake notes and maintaining a digital depository of forensic reports.
The two countries had identified as a high priority area tackling routing of fake currency notes from Bangladesh, which has emerged as a base for Pakistan's ISI for pumping counterfeit notes into India, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to that country in June.
