Pakistan's big business: minting Indian money

JUST FAKING IT: A Delhi Police official shows a fake note seized from three ISI agents.

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New Delhi: Pakistan’s most dangerous export to India is not just terrorism—it’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) is trying to flood the country with fake Indian currency.

When the Delhi Police arrested three ISI agents at the Nizamuddin Railway station they found Rs 33 lakh in Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations concealed in reams and reams of thread reels.

Alok Kumar, Deputy Commissioner of Police in the Special Cell, says the fake currency came from Pakistan and the printing was very fine.

A K Doval, a counter-terrorism expert and former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, says the ISI uses conduits to carry counterfeit currency from amongst the thousands of people infiltrating into India from its porous borders.

“In India's case a large number of people who infiltrate through the country through the non-immigration borders through the land route, through the illegal route they bring weapons through them, they bring explosive, they do bring a wad of notes with them-both counterfeit and genuine,” says Doval.

A CNN-IBN and Cobrapost investigation tracked down counterfeit currency dealers who revealed the circuitous route through which fake Indian currency is pumped into the country.

Pradeep, a veteran fake currency dealer, told undercover reporters that if they wanted fake currency vegetable trucks would ferry it to Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Kanpur or any place they wanted. Pradeep told the reporters the fake currency would from Pakistan, routed through Nepal, and then reach India.

Fake currency is a serious threat to a nation’s security, says Doval. “People start losing faith in the currency of their own country. This money can go for events, which can be equally bad as terrorism. It can be used for all sorts of illegal activities,” he says.

CNN-IBN and Cobrapost undercover reporters contacted fake currency dealer Suresh Jaiswal for buying money. For every Rs 1 lakh of fake money Jaiswal wanted Rs 65,000 of genuine currency.

Not intending to buy counterfeit currency at this point CNN-IBN closed the investigation at this point but there is no stopping the fake currency traders.