OREANDA-NEWS. January 27, 2015. Authorities in Estonia confiscated 481 counterfeit euro bills in 2014, more than double the 192 found a year earlier. That figure was 202 in 2012.

According to the European Central Bank, 838,000 fake euro notes were taken out of circulation last year, with 20- and 50-euro notes the most common fake bills. The number of legitimate bills in circulation is around 16 billion.

The Bank of Estonia told Postimees the spike in confiscations is part down to hard work by authorities, which was in turn due to an increase in criminal activity.