How did a fake €50 note in Mechelen lead to a wider Flemish investigation?

Rivierenland police announced on Monday 7 September that an investigating judge had detained two men following a counterfeit-payment alert at a pharmacy in Mechelen, in Belgium’s Antwerp province. A woman questioned in the same investigation was released. The judicial decision followed a pharmacy employee’s report on Friday 4 September, according to the force’s [official account](https://www.politie.be/5913/nieuws/persoverzicht-van-maandag-7-september-2026).

The immediate concern reaches beyond one shop. Police spokesperson Dirk Van de Sande told Nieuwsblad that investigators could link the suspects to “nine different incidents” across Flanders, translated from Dutch. That remains an allegation about connections between cases, rather than a finding of guilt. The report does not identify all the businesses involved. [Nieuwsblad’s reporting](https://www.nieuwsblad.be/regio/antwerpen/rivierenland/mechelen/mechelse-apotheker-merkt-dat-klant-met-vals-biljet-van-50-euro-wil-betalen-nu-al-link-met-9-soortgelijke-feiten-in-vlaanderen/161071761.html) places an ordinary transaction at the start of a potentially wider investigation.

For shopkeepers and customers, the practical stakes are straightforward: accepting a counterfeit can mean losing its entire supposed value. The National Bank of Belgium says fake notes carry no entitlement to reimbursement. Its [public guidance](https://www.nbb.be/nl/biljetten-en-munten/beschadigde-en-valse-biljetten/valse-biljetten) makes checking cash a useful everyday precaution, including for people unfamiliar with euro banknotes.

According to Radio Reflex, the pharmacy employee noticed the suspect note when a customer tried to buy a roll of tape on Nekkerspoelstraat. The customer left after being challenged. Officers subsequently found three people in a nearby parked car; one matched the description supplied by the employee. The broadcaster reports that police recovered 34 counterfeit €50 notes from the vehicle and one suspect, alongside €1,241 in cash. [Radio Reflex](https://www.radioreflex.be/2026/09/07/politie-ontdekt-34-valse-briefjes-van-50-euro-na-melding-uit-apotheek/) also reports an alleged payment with a fake note at a chip shop on the same street earlier that day.

Those details leave an important distinction unresolved. Finding counterfeit notes and establishing who knowingly used them are separate questions. Neither the police bulletin nor the reporting reviewed supplies the suspects’ explanations, a defence response or a court judgment on the allegations. The published account also does not establish where the notes were manufactured. A payment investigation should therefore not be read as proof that those arrested produced the counterfeits.

The national picture offers perspective without diminishing any individual loss. In its February assessment, the National Bank described Belgian counterfeiting as “zeer beperkt” — “very limited”. It recorded 15,198 counterfeit notes in 2025, up from 14,341 in 2024; €50 notes accounted for 8,559. The bank cautioned against drawing sweeping conclusions from one year’s increase, which can reflect the activity of a single counterfeiter. Those are national figures, not evidence about this case. [National Bank of Belgium](https://www.nbb.be/nl/nieuws-en-evenementen/nieuws/aantal-beslag-genomen-valse-bankbiljetten-stijgt-lichtjes-2025).

The European Central Bank’s assessment points in the same reassuring direction. Across its euro-banknote statistics, 444,000 counterfeits were withdrawn in 2025, down 20% on the previous year, equivalent to 14 detected counterfeits per million genuine notes in circulation. Its message is vigilance alongside continued confidence in cash. [European Central Bank](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2026/html/ecb.pr260227~66abdc6895.nl.html). The broader lesson is that a serious local cluster and a relatively rare currency-wide problem can coexist.

For anyone handling a suspicious note, the National Bank recommends checking its security features using the feel-look-tilt method and contacting police if a counterfeit is already in their possession. A bank can also examine it. Remembering where it came from may help investigators, the bank says; knowingly or suspectingly passing it on is punishable. [National Bank guidance](https://www.nbb.be/nl/biljetten-en-munten/beschadigde-en-valse-biljetten/valse-biljetten).

The next substantive development will be whether investigators substantiate the alleged connections and establish each person’s role. No subsequent judicial outcome was identified in the sources reviewed. The full list of affected premises, the total losses and the supply route remain unknown.