Almost 20 law enforcement agencies, including the Gardaí, have prevented an estimated €1.2 billion in counterfeit banknotes and coins from entering circulation, reports The Mirror.
Investigators determined that the majority of the fake currency originated in China, reports The Mirror.
Romanian officials alone seized more than 4.8 million counterfeit euro banknotes and shut down a storage site containing over 223,000 forged notes that had been shipped from China.
Meanwhile, three separate operations in Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States led to the confiscation of over 220,000 fake coins in euros, pounds and US dollars. Each of the consignments was traced back to China, reports The Mirror.
The Europol-led investigation, known as Operation DECOY III, was carried out over a six-month period from June to November 2025.
During the operation, authorities confiscated 379 parcels containing counterfeit cash. These discoveries sparked 70 fresh investigations targeting the criminal groups involved, reports The Mirror.
Altogether, law enforcement agencies across Europe intercepted more than seven million counterfeit items, including 4.8 million euro banknotes and coins, 2.3 million US dollar notes and coins, 23,302 British pound items and 4,800 Swiss franc items.
Europol stated that the overall face value of the fake currency seized is estimated at EUR 1.2 billion, reports The Mirror.
The crackdown brought together authorities from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Türkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Europol said they are working with the “European Central Bank, under the coordination of the European Commission, to strengthen cooperation with Chinese authorities to tackle counterfeit currency at its source,” reports The Mirror.
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