Bojarski, the greatest counterfeiter of all! (Continued)

In this second chapter we tell you how Mr. Bojarski produced his fake banknotes.

He did it in a very personal way. This is where this story gets interesting. In the first article, it was mentioned that he produced the bills in his basement. He was very clever in finding the necessary raw materials to avoid suspicion. Initially, he made the press that was used to print the counterfeit bills himself. Bojarski's counterfeit money making process was very sophisticated. He used professional printers, special inks and high quality paper to create near perfect banknotes. He had also developed techniques to circumvent banknote security measures, such as watermarks and security strips.

Bojarski had contacts all over the world to distribute his counterfeit money. He was involved in the production of several million francs in counterfeit money, making him one of the largest counterfeiters in history.

Bojarski began his counterfeiting process by obtaining high quality paper, normally used by the Bank of France. Bojarski also used modern photocopying techniques to improve the quality of his counterfeits. Once the counterfeit banknotes were printed, Bojarski cut and pinned them to look like the real thing.

Commissioner Emile Benhamou, despite all his years of experience, was for the first time confronted with a labyrinth case! He was faced with an enigma.

He had in his hands counterfeit 100 franc bills. He quickly realized that it was very complicated to identify the forgeries, given the great work almost to perfection of Mr. Bojarski. As these counterfeit banknotes were appearing in all corners of France and as the necessary technology must have been important, the commissioner thought that he was facing a well organized gang. How could he imagine that everything was happening in a cellar!

It took them long hours of observation to identify the counterfeit banknotes with a magnifying glass. It was necessary to be very rigorous to be convinced that the banknote was indeed false.

Bojarski would have worked alone clandestinely. The manufacture of the paper was carried out in a kitchen mixer, he mixed sheets of cigarette paper with tracing paper. He had to invent typography machines, to print the four primary colors and the numbering thanks to a machine that he would have made himself. He also glued the paper after printing with a chemical of his own composition, aged the cuts by putting them in a drum machine and blowing in lampblack and other sienna, things previously thought impossible to do by one person.

The fall

This activity took a lot of Bojarski's time. He needed to travel all over France. He asked his brother-in-law and a friend for help. The instructions were clear, he had to keep the banknotes flowing in a reasonable and random way. It was important not to attract attention. However, his associates were not careful.

It was his brother-in-law who did not follow the instructions given. He went to the post office several times to buy treasury bills. A few days later, the fake bills were noticed. The agent who received it could identify the man who had come and could therefore make an accurate report to the Police. The investigation really started at that moment, a long and discreet surveillance started from the police department.

The brother-in-law makes the big mistake of repeating. We can say that perhaps for his great bad luck, he falls on the same employee, with the same request of purchase of the treasury bonds. This is how the employee alerts the police to proceed to the arrest of the brother-in-law.

The brother-in-law then reported Bojarski, who was arrested by the police shortly thereafter.

Investigators were stunned when they discovered Bojarski's "hideout". The real sweatshop he had built for himself was very ingenious, no one had ever seen anything like it.

Bojarski was sentenced to 8 years in prison in France for his participation in the production of counterfeit money.

His sentence was later reduced so that he could help the Bank of France recognize the counterfeit banknotes.

References

Wikipedia : Ceslaw Bojarski

Bojarski, le Cézanne de la fausse monnaie (3/4)

Faussaires - Bojarski, le Cézanne de la fausse monnaie (2/4)

PM Magazine : Bulletin de l’Association Française pour l’Étude du Papier-Monnaie n° 43 – décembre 2016

L'affaire Bojarski écrit par Vianney

Article "Bojarski: les tribulations du Cézanne de la fausse monnaie"