Anatasios Arnaouti
Encyclopedia
Anatasios Arnaouti is a criminal
from Manchester
, England
who led one of the most ambitious ever forgery
operations before being jailed in 2005.
At the time of the arrest of Arnaouti and his accomplices, police seized over £2.5million worth of counterfeit
£10 notes and $3.5 million worth of counterfeit $100 notes, but the total number of notes produced is unknown as their printing operation had been in production for several years, and was capable of producing tens of thousands of notes each day. The extent of the crime was considered so severe that it could have compromised the UK
and U.S.
economies.
In Operation Gait, the UK National Crime Squad
working jointly with the US Secret Service infiltrated and uncovered the operation in December 2002. Simultaneously a BBC
undercover documentary team also infiltrated the operation and secretly filmed the printing presses in operation, providing information on the gangs' distribution methods which the police had not uncovered. Although the notes produced by the gang were not perfect, the gangs' principal difficulty was not in producing the notes but in getting them into circulation, leading the gang into carelessness in finding people to buy the counterfeits, which is how the BBC found the gang.
On June 14, 2005, Arnaouti was sentenced to 8 years in prison for conspiracy to make counterfeit currency, conspiracy to pass counterfeit currency and conspiracy to handle stolen goods.
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
from Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
who led one of the most ambitious ever forgery
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
operations before being jailed in 2005.
At the time of the arrest of Arnaouti and his accomplices, police seized over £2.5million worth of counterfeit
Counterfeit
To counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
£10 notes and $3.5 million worth of counterfeit $100 notes, but the total number of notes produced is unknown as their printing operation had been in production for several years, and was capable of producing tens of thousands of notes each day. The extent of the crime was considered so severe that it could have compromised the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
economies.
In Operation Gait, the UK National Crime Squad
National Crime Squad
The National Crime Squad was a British police organisation which dealt mainly with organised and major crimes. Formed in April 1998 after the amalgamation of six former Regional Crime Squads it merged on 1 April 2006 into the Serious Organised Crime Agency. The NCS reported directly to the Home...
working jointly with the US Secret Service infiltrated and uncovered the operation in December 2002. Simultaneously a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
undercover documentary team also infiltrated the operation and secretly filmed the printing presses in operation, providing information on the gangs' distribution methods which the police had not uncovered. Although the notes produced by the gang were not perfect, the gangs' principal difficulty was not in producing the notes but in getting them into circulation, leading the gang into carelessness in finding people to buy the counterfeits, which is how the BBC found the gang.
On June 14, 2005, Arnaouti was sentenced to 8 years in prison for conspiracy to make counterfeit currency, conspiracy to pass counterfeit currency and conspiracy to handle stolen goods.