A woman in Singapore is facing as many as 20 years behind bars after police arrested her on suspicion of printing her own homemade counterfeit banknotes.

Officers from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) detained the 30-year-old after receiving multiple reports of attempts to pass off fake S$50 ($37) notes at various retail outlets across the Hougang and Tampines housing estates.

After carrying out enquires, investigators from the SPF’s Commercial Affairs Department identified the woman as the source of the bogus banknotes and proceeded to arrest her.

Police seized two suspected fake banknotes, a printer, stationery, two handbags, and more than S$1,200 in cash from the woman.

The SDF believes she used the printer to produce the fake S$50 notes, which she then proceeded to spend on several low-value items on at least 10 occasions.

She also stands accused of being involved in a theft that took place back in February.

The woman was charged with counterfeiting banknotes and then using them, offences that can be punished in Singapore with a maximum prison term of 20 years and a large fine.

In a statement, the SDF warned members of the public to remain vigilant for people attempting to pass off counterfeit banknotes, and to call police should they be presented with what they suspect may be fake currency.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the woman is believed to have printed several pieces of S$50 notes with her own printer and used the counterfeit S$50 notes on at least 10 occasions to purchase items of low value,” the SDF said.

“Two pieces of S$50 notes, which are believed to be counterfeits, a printer, printing paper, stationery, apparel, an EZ-link card, cash amounting to more than S$1,200 and two handbags were seized as case exhibits.”

Earlier this month, the SDF said it had received multiple reports of people attempting to spend bogus S$50 and S$100 banknotes at convenience stores, restaurants and retail outlets in a number of locations.

The force said it had arrested and charged three men aged between 25 and 29 in connection with the reports, which it said related to currency that appeared to have been photocopied and lacked security features such as watermarks and security threads.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has announced that it will withdraw 1,000-shilling ($10) notes from circulation at the beginning of October as part of the country’s efforts to combat widespread counterfeiting, money laundering and corruption.

Unveiling a range of new banknotes that are scheduled to be introduced to the country’s economy over the next few months, CBK Governor Patrick Njoroge said Kenyan citizens wishing to exchange 1,000-shilling notes must do so before 1 October, after which point they will cease to be legal tender.

Announcing the new bank notes during a press conference, Njoroge said: “[W]e have assessed the grave concern that our large banknotes—particularly the older 1,000-shilling series—are being used for illicit financial flows in Kenya and also other countries in the region.

“More recently we have seen the emergence of some counterfeits. These are grave concerns that would jeopardise proper transactions and the conduct of commerce in our currency.”

The withdrawal of the notes comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta vowed to crack down on corruption when came to power in 2013.

His critics have accused him of being slow to do so, noting the government’s failure to pursue top officials accused of financial wrongdoing.

Opposition MPs were quick to welcome the removal of larger notes from circulation, with some suggesting they should be withdrawn before the scheduled 1 October deadline.

Orange Democratic Movement Party (ODM) Chair John Mbadi has reportedly called for the 1,000- shilling notes to be taken out of circulation by 1 August, arguing that bringing the deadline forward would further curb illicit financial transactions and currency counterfeiting.

“The economy of the country has been distorted by black market activities that involve money,” Capital FM Kenya quotes Mbadi as saying.

“We expect a gazette notice to be issued to that effect so that we do not give room for people who have been operating and handling illicit money in this country from having time to clean and sanitise the same.”

Back in November 2016, the Indian government announced the withdrawal of 500 ($7.21) and 1,000 rupee banknotes in a move that was also intended to crack down on corruption and money laundering.

It was hoped at the time that the withdrawal of the notes would help eliminate counterfeit currency used by terrorist organisations active in the country.

Almost a year later, Indian Minister of Home Affairs Rajnath Singh cautioned that high-quality counterfeit banknotes were continuing to fund terrorism in his country.

Police forces across Europe have participated in a major joint operation targeting euro banknote counterfeiters operating on dark web illicit marketplaces.

A series of Europol-backed days of action, which took place from 19 November to 6 December, involved raids on more than 300 properties in 13 countries, resulting in the arrests of 235 suspects.

During the raids, a number of criminal assets were seized, including €1,500 (£1,713) in cash, a quantity of drugs, electronic devices including smartphones and computers, Bitcoin, and equipment that had been used for the mining of cryptocurrencies.

A number of weapons were also confiscated during the raids, including guns, knives and nunchaku.

German investigators involved in the operation also discovered two cannabis factories, while police in France uncovered an illegal euro counterfeiting print shop, as well as a marijuana planation.

The crackdown was launched after police in Austria dismantled an illegal banknote print shop in the city of Leoben in June of this year.

The owner of the shop is said to have been producing bogus euro banknotes of various denominations before offering them for sale on dark web marketplaces.

It is thought the Austrian counterfeiter sold some 10,000 fake banknotes to customers all over Europe.

After being handed evidence seized during the raid in Austria, Europol analysed data obtained from the alleged counterfeiter’s computer and decided to launch a coordinated operation targeting other bogus banknote traders in a number of EU countries, including Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

Congratulating officers who took part in the operation, Europol Deputy Executive Director of Operations Wil van Gemert said in a statement: “This joint effort highlights that complete anonymity on the internet and the dark net doesn’t exist.

“When you engage in illegal activity online, be prepared to have police knocking on your door sooner or later.

“Europol will continue to assist member states in their efforts of protecting the euro against counterfeiting, both in the real world as in the virtual one.”

Back in September, Europol announced that Polish police had taken down an illegal print shop in Gdansk that had been producing fake €50 banknotes.

The law enforcement agency said the alleged owner of the facility had been selling counterfeits on a number of dark web platforms for many years, and had built up a strong reputation.

He is currently facing up to 25 years behind bars.