An aircraft arriving from outside Sudan landed at Nyala Airport the day before yesterday, carrying boxes containing counterfeit 1,000-pound banknotes designed to resemble the new denomination issued by the Central Bank of Sudan in Khartoum. Informed sources confirmed to Al-Sudani newspaper that the notes are being printed at foreign printing facilities and used in areas of Darfur under the control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia.
Since the outbreak of the war in April 2023, Sudan’s economy has faced a severe collapse, manifested in high inflation, a declining pound, and acute cash shortages. However, one of the most dangerous developments has been the transformation of the currency itself into a battlefield. After the Central Bank withdrew the old 500- and 1,000-pound banknotes in 2024 and introduced more security-enhanced replacements, the militia refused to allow the new notes to circulate in areas under its control, further exacerbating the monetary crisis there.
In May 2026, new banknotes emerged bearing the date May 2022 and the signature of former Central Bank Governor Hussein Yahya Jangoul, whom the militia appointed as governor of a parallel central bank in Nyala. Reuters reports and bankers in the city confirmed that the notes were newly printed and had not previously circulated, despite their resemblance to the currency used before the war.
Mohamed Abdelrahman Karouri, Director General of Sudan Currency Printing Presses, stresses that the Central Bank is the only institution legally authorized to issue currency, and that any printing outside this framework constitutes an infringement on state sovereignty.
Experts regard this systematic counterfeiting as more dangerous than direct military operations. Professor Suleiman Makawi describes it as “the creation of a parallel monetary system that weakens a fundamental symbol of sovereignty.” Dr. Khalid El-Tigani El-Nour, meanwhile, points out that counterfeit banknotes are being used to finance fighters and purchase gold and goods, putting pressure on the exchange rate and driving prices higher. The Sudanese pound has collapsed from approximately 500 per US dollar before the war to levels exceeding 9,000 on the parallel market in recent times.
The immediate consequences include the erosion of citizens’ purchasing power, further inflationary pressure, and a deepening of the economic and geographical divisions threatening the country’s unity.
