Probe into 500 note

BRUSSELS: The European Central Bank should make proposals on how to reduce security risks linked to the € 500, note which can be used for the financing of terrorism, the head of eurozone finance ministers said yesterday.

Almost 30 percent of the more than € 1 trillion of cash in circulation last year was hoarded in € 500 notes, ECB data show.

The banknote is one of the most valuable worldwide, with a value more than five times higher than the largest US equivalent in circulation, the $100 bill.

The request for a probe on the note comes amid an EU clampdown on all means of payment that may be used to finance terrorist acts.