GERMANY: Mystery acid attack hits over 1,000 German banknotes.

German banknotes have been falling to pieces due to a mysterious acid attack in recent months, the country's central bank said on Thursday (November 2). Police are investigating why around 1,500 banknotes worth between five and 100 euros (6.38-128 U.S. dollars) have crumbled shortly after being withdrawn from cash machines, the Bundesbank said. Germany's biggest selling daily newspaper "Bild" showed pictures of the disintegrating notes on its front page, with the headline "Acid attack on our money!" The first incident was reported in Berlin in June. Tests have shown the notes were contaminated with a powerful acid used as an industrial cleaning agent, and the Bundesbank has ruled out problems with the printing process. They added that they did not think the contaminated notes posed a health threat to the public. A spokeswoman for Berlin Police, Kerstin Menzel, said that the police were investigating what kind of substance had come into contact with the notes, but were presuming that it was sulphuric acid. Menzel said that they could not say how many notes had been affected: "The notes didn't just appear in Berlin or in the surrounding area, but in other German states." European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, asked about the notes in a regular news conference, speculated that the notes could have been stolen, and thieves had tried to remove identification markings with acid. "At the present moment, I can say that we have no other information coming from other members of the euro area, and of course we will continue to follow all this very very carefully," Trichet said. No other countries had reported the problem, and the crumbling bank notes were just a tiny fraction of the 5 billion notes in circulation in Germany, he added. "Bild" said contaminated notes had now surfaced in 17 German towns. It quoted a chemicals expert who said the notes had probably been dusted with a salt which turned into acid on contact with sweat. According to the Bundesbank those in possession of real bank notes which have been damaged can get a replacement, so long as they have 50 percent of the note. Otherwise, they should bring proof that the bank note has been destroyed, in order to obtain a replacement.

ITN Source | November 3, 2006

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