Iraqi crackdown on fake dinars

The notes were being printed 'like a magazine'

More than $10m (£6m) worth of fake Iraqi dinars have been confiscated following raids by the US army and Iraqi police.

The raids in three different parts of Baghdad led to the confiscation of money printers, false printing plates and 20 billion forged Iraqi dinars.

The police have said it is the largest counterfeit seizure in Iraq's history.

One of the US investigators told the BBC that it was the work of amateurs hoping to cash in on the demand for bank notes before the old-style notes are taken out of circulation.

"It's basically somebody who is printing magazines who has decided to print money," said Sergeant John Marshall.

"Without looking at it too closely, it does look real, but when you start looking at it there's a lot of flaws," he explained.

'Good plan, bad money'

Next month, the old notes depicting Saddam Hussein will be taken out of circulation and replaced with new notes.

The gang saw the opportunity to launder fake cash that would only need to be in circulation for a short period of time.

"They were going to try to take it to the central bank and exchange if for the new diner and let the bank burn it for them," Sergeant Marshall said.

"It was a good plan, but bad money."

Some of the printing machines were stolen from the central bank last April while other were brought in from the United Arab Emirates, according to French newswire AFP.

Lawlessness

The BBC's Jill McGivering in Baghdad said cash crimes are a growing problem and that criminals have been quick to take advantage of a general climate of lawlessness to make money.

The seizure is being hailed as a victory in the daily battle to get crime under control.

The investigators say they caught the gang before any of the money went into circulation, but it is unclear how much fake money from other sources is already changing hands.

The new currency - which is expected to depict national landmarks - is already ready for circulation, according to London-based printing firm De La Rue.