Busted coin minter made phony British pounds

The coin minter who was arrested in Amsterdam last month is suspected of using his professional equipment to make counterfeit British pounds. Telegraaf daily said on Thursday that according to its sources at Fiscal Information and Investigation Service FIOD, Patrick O. produced several millions of false British currency.

The minter was taken into custody with his business partner on November 7th following a raid of his European Central Mint (ECM). ECM did business with pension funds and investors and had a deal with the Central Bank of Suriname CBvS to produce gold bullion, but according to reports the company was defaulting on agreements and clients were jumping ship. CBvS Governor Gilmore Hoefdraad distanced his institution from the ECM, saying the Bank had already been in the process of nullifying its agreement with the company prior to O.'s arrest on November 7.

The Amsterdam West offices have been closed since the raid and emptied out by FIOD under close watch of armed police officers. The officers apparently also confiscated a large amount of counterfeit British pounds.

O. had reportedly invested some €30 million in minting equipment. FIOD sources told Telegraaf he has switched to using the presses for producing fake British Pound coins, which he was also distributing. The £1 coin is popular and holds high value because it is made out of one type of metal.