BOGDAN OLTEANU: The number of money forgeries, twenty times lower than the average of the EU

Bogdan Olteanu, the deputy governor of the NBR, yesterday said that the decision of the Central Bank to introduce polymer banknotes was a "brave" and "wise" move, because it made the number of monetary forgeries seen in Romania be twenty times lower than the average of the European Union (EU). "The quality of counterfeit money in Romania is extremely low", he said, at the "Romania, where to? IT & Financial Crime in the 21st century. Legal requirements and real challenges".

The NBR official considers that the reputation of the banking system represents a substantial guiding value, which could contribute to rebuilding trust between banks and customers. Bogdan Olteanu said: "We need the certainty that criminal activities through any financial channels are avoided. In order to protect the reputation of financial institutions, they need to unite their efforts to keep crime as far away from themselves as possible". In order to do that, it is essential to have a high degree of transparency, he considers.

In the opinion of the deputy governor of the NBR, the global banking system, especially after the negative performance it had in the period which led to the economic crisis, was far from being perceived as a crime-free sector, especially due to its conflict of interest, which contributed to the worsening of the crisis. He said that in Romania, conflict of interest is regulated and punished by the Criminal Code of Law as well as by the new Civil Code. These issues, which are specific to the more sophisticated markets, need to make us vigilant, especially since we are aiming for a similar level of sophistication, Bogdan Olteanu considers.

The official of the Central Bank considers that Romania has achieved substantial progress in the twenty years of construction of the banking sector, as the level of knowledge and ability in fighting financial crimes are very high.