Spanje bezorgd over hoog aantal 500-eurobiljetten (en)

Spain has the highest circulation of €500 notes in the eurozone with over a quarter of all these notes in the EU, leading Spanish authorities to set its anti-money laundering agency on the case.

When the European Central Bank (ECB) in January 2002 put the euro currency into circulation, 13 million €500 notes - or 3.5 percent of the total - were released in Spain.

Now that share is 26 percent of the total, which represents an increase of 32 percent from just one year ago. The €500 notes even outnumber the €5 notes in the Iberian country, reports El Pais.

The mulberry coloured €500 note is the highest-value note of the four year-old euro currency, currently used in 12 EU member states.

Many citizens have never seen the notes - which is why they are known as "bin laden" - and most retailers do not accept them.

The Spanish ministry of economy and finance finds its presence excessive and that it does not correspond with the size of the economy.

Tax inspectors say that the spectacular increase in €500 notes signals the large size of the growing underground economy and amount of "black money" in Spain.

The Bank of Spain is so worried about the trend, that it has begun a study aimed at identifying clusters of demand for €500 bills.

On Monday (29 May), the government's anti-money laundering agency (Sepblac) said all banks should intensify their control and surveillance of the €500 notes.

Many suspect that Spain's Mediterranean coast, a notorious haven for criminal elites, money laundering and property-linked corruption, will prove a top spot of the notes.

Only two months ago, the mayor of Marbella, a popular tourist resort on the Mediterranean coast, and the entire council were fired amid allegations of widespread corruption.

Economists estimate that undeclared cash flows in Spain could be worth about 20 percent of its gross national product, which is less than estimates for Italy and Greece, the Financial Times recently reported.

Spain's heavy reliance on tourism, construction and other services for economic growth makes a certain amount of small-time tax cheating inevitable, analysts say.

After the €500 note, the €50 note is the one most preferred by the Spanish.