BELGRADE, Serbia

The Balkan country of Kosovo is facing an epidemic of counterfeit euro coins.

Counterfeit money is mostly released through accounts opened on social media platforms. The coins in question find buyers for approximately half of their real value.

Nadire Ibrahimi, an expert at the Kosovo Forensic Medicine Agency, told Anadolu that that that more than 90% of the euro coins they examined were fake.

"Of the 38,137 fake coins that came to be examined in total, 36,269 were found to be €2, 1,832 were €1, and only 36 were 50 (euro) cents." said Ibrahimi, who is responsible for checking the coins’ authenticity.

He added that fakes can be easily distinguished from the real coins due to their dark color, deformity, and stronger attraction to magnets.

Most businesses in the country do not accept €2 coins. Some businesses also use different methods to distinguish fake money from the genuine article.

Kosovo police have made great efforts to prevent counterfeit money from entering the country.

During a Nov. 6 operation, people who brought approximately €85,000 of fake coins in from North Macedonia to Kosovo were caught.

The Central Bank of Kosovo issued a statement saying that all banknotes and coins denominated in euros without exception are valid means of payment.

Kosovo, a potential candidate for EU enlargement, declared independence in 2008 but adopted the euro as its currency in 2002. Its independence has been recognized by many countries, including Türkiye.