Russian gangs target the euro

MAFIA gangs in Russia are banking on making huge profits from counterfeit euro notes, according to Moscow police. The lack of public information in Russia over the single currency could hit millions of its residents who traditionally keep their savings in hard currency.

They hold up to £21bn in foreign cash, with the second-most popular currency behind the US dollar being the Deutschmark - no longer legal tender from 1 January.

There are fears that Russians will be hoodwinked by criminals passing off the euros - television station NTV has already reported that gangs in the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad have started manufacturing copies of the notes.

'We expect euros to be printed in Russia,' warned General Nikolai Klyukhin, a police chief in charge of fighting counterfeit notes. 'We have conducted a special seminar for our officers showing them what the real thing looks like and possible ways to spot a counterfeit.'

He forecasts an initial flood of good quality copies produced by hi-tech printers, but that these will be quickly surpassed by 'really smart counterfeits', the work of specialists used by mafia gangs.