Report: C-Notes Surge May Signal Global Corruption

The amount of $100 bills in circulation is surging – and may be a sign of global corruption since high-denomination bills are a go-to for bad guys, CNBC reported.

The Federal Reserve figures the number of outstanding U.S. $100 bills has doubled since the financial crisis, with more than 12 billion across the world, the business news outlet reported.

Deutsche Bank economist Torsten Slok says C-notes have now passed $1 bills in circulation, the outlet reported.

Generally, economists think the increase is related to people wanting to hoard cash, a similar force that's driven the interest in cryptocurrencies, CNBC reported.

But high denomination, high value currency notes have historically been a preferred form of payment for criminals too, and Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research, said the growth in $100 bills in circulation is a signal the world is relying on them as a store of value — and still using them for international crime.

Despite pressure o get rid of high denomination notes to curb international crime -- Lawrence Summers, former Treasury secretary and director of the National Economic Council in the White House argued for abolishing C-notes in 2016 -- Colas says that’s not likely to happen.

"The Federal Reserve and Treasury make 99 dollars for every $100 dollar bill they print and sell offshore," Colas told CNBC. "There's a natural desire to keep printing these things — the U.S. government makes a lot of money selling them."

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