Director of the Sudanese Currency Printing Press: Banknotes Are a Symbol of Sovereignty

Behind every banknote in people’s pocket lies an extensive series of processes involving design, security, printing, and oversight. In times of war, the national currency has faced unprecedented threats: the looting of large quantities, the proliferation of counterfeiting, and the subsequent decision to replace high-denomination notes.
In this interview, Engineer Mohamed Abdelrahman Karouri, General Manager of the Sudan Currency Printing Press Co. Ltd., discusses this “factory of monetary sovereignty” and the roles the company plays beyond the printing of paper currency.

Interview by: The Editorial Team

E.T: To begin, could you tell us about the company’s relationship with the Central Bank of Sudan, and what roles it performs beyond printing currency?

Karouri: The Sudan Currency Printing Press is a state-owned private company, established in 1992 with the primary objective of localizing the printing of Sudanese currency and managing all technical operations related to its design and production. In addition to the national currency, the company produces various secure state documents.
The Central Bank of Sudan holds a 93% stake in the company, while the Ministry of Finance holds the remaining 7%. The company serves as the technical arm of the Central Bank of Sudan for the design and printing of Sudanese currency. The Central Bank is the legal authority empowered to issue the national currency and is responsible for formulating and managing the country’s monetary policy; the Sudan Currency Printing Press acts as the technical arm that supports this policy by providing secure banknotes—covering the entire process from initial design to final printing and delivery. Sudan Currency Printing Press is the exclusive entity mandated to secure the official documents of the Government of the Republic of Sudan, in accordance with relevant Council of Ministers’ resolutions. The company focuses its services on the public sector, with the primary objective of safeguarding official documents—which serve as essential state instruments and vital tools for government operations.
E.T: Are there similar companies or institutions in the region, and do you maintain relationships with international security printers?
Karouri :Sudan stands out among its African peers by producing its own national currency domestically; in fact, there are no more than five countries in Africa that actively produce their own banknotes. Furthermore, Sudan is a founding member of the African Union of Currency and Security Document Printers—an organization currently chaired by Sudan Currency Printing Press as of early 2023. Sudan Currency Printing Press maintains strong global partnerships with raw material suppliers and other currency printers. It actively and consistently participates in international professional forums—an engagement that has yielded significant technical and commercial support. Through effective coordination with its global partners following the outbreak of the war, the company ensured the seamless continuation of its strategic operations. This, in turn, enabled the company to support the state by fulfilling all its requirements for currency and secure documents during this critical period in the nation’s history.
E.T: What are the company’s most notable achievements?
Karouri :The company stands as one of the most significant strategic state-owned enterprises, having played a distinguished and vital role since its inception over three decades ago. Its achievements span a wide range of critical functions: it has handled currency replacement on several occasions, printed election ballots, and produced materials for the Sudanese national examinations, school textbooks, and academic certificates for various educational levels. Furthermore, the company has been responsible for printing official government passports (diplomatic, official, and private), bank ATM cards, and point-of-sale (POS) materials. It has also advanced the production of bank checks, secured judicial documents—such as marriage and divorce certificates, land title search documents, land deeds, and legal documentation paper—as well as financial collection ledgers and various other initiatives aimed at upgrading and enhancing the security of government documents and publications. Notably, even amidst the country’s current exceptional circumstances—and despite the company being targeted by militias and subjected to systematic sabotage—we have successfully maintained all our operations and ensured the continued provision of currency. …and secured documents, achieved through the innovation of a system involving contingency plans and alternative operational sites.
Other accomplishments include securing documents that were not protected prior to the war—most notably land title deeds—as well as upgrading government passports from machine-readable to electronic versions.

E.T: To what extent has the war affected the company, and what challenges have you faced?
Karouri: The company was targeted by shelling and systematic sabotage; however, as I mentioned, we succeeded in safeguarding our products through a system of alternative sites. Furthermore, alongside the large-scale looting of the national currency, we faced a difficult period marked by a surge in forgery and counterfeiting. In partnership with state institutions, we had to protect the assets of both the state and private individuals from these threats. With the support and confidence of the Central Bank, we have continued to supply currency without interruption—a feat driven by a purely national effort.
By leveraging the strategic partnerships the company maintains as a regional leader in currency printing, we were able to execute the Central Bank’s plan to produce a new family of banknotes. This has granted the Central Bank greater control over the money supply and enabled comprehensive management of cash liquidity.
E.T: In December 2024, the Central Bank announced the replacement of the 1,000 and 500-pound denominations. Why at that particular time? And what was your role?

Karouri:The company has a long-standing history of managing and executing currency replacement projects and restructuring banknote series. We have gained extensive experience through the specialized operations we have carried out over the past three decades following its establishment, the Central Bank—acting in its capacity as the issuing authority—issued a directive under exceptionally complex circumstances.
This sovereign decision was aimed at regulating the money supply and controlling liquidity, in light of the widespread counterfeiting the country was experiencing and the fact that significant amounts of currency had fallen outside the control of the banking system. Replacing high-denomination banknotes is one of the most effective methods for removing suspicious currency from circulation.
Our role is that of a technical partner: we design and print the new series of banknotes, incorporating the required security specifications, in accordance with the Central Bank’s plan and under its supervision. This is an entirely national effort, bolstered by the strategic partnerships maintained by the Sudan Currency Printing Press.

E.T: You mentioned the spread of counterfeiting—how can a citizen distinguish a genuine banknote from a counterfeit one?
Karouri: The new currency features security elements that are extremely difficult to forge or counterfeit. In the design process, we incorporated security features that are easily identifiable to the public with the naked eye—such as metallic strips and watermarks—enabling the average citizen to distinguish between genuine and counterfeit notes without the need for specialized equipment.
Furthermore, as part of efforts to enhance the product’s value, the Sudan Currency Printing Press—in coordination with the Central Bank—is conducting awareness and educational campaigns. These initiatives include training those who handle currency on how to identify genuine banknotes, as well as other types of secure documents. The company has persisted in providing advisory and training services to the banking sector, even amidst the war and its associated logistical complexities. Furthermore, it has extended its reach to various states to equip local government officials with the skills to detect and combat the counterfeiting of currency and secure documents. This initiative reflects the company’s commitment to its national duty—a responsibility stemming from its affiliation with the Central Bank of Sudan and its role as a strategic institution that helps ensure the cohesion of state operations and the functioning of government administration.

E.T: There is a persistent complaint regarding the poor condition of banknotes in circulation. What is the solution?
Karouri: The national currency is printed on the highest-quality banknote paper; however, it is often handled in a manner that fails to preserve its condition, particularly within a circulation environment that can be quite harsh. As a symbol of state sovereignty, the currency deserves to be treated with due respect: it should not be torn, written upon, folded, or carelessly crumpled and piled up. Accordingly, the solution begins with fostering a culture of how to handle currency—through public awareness—and is complemented by a systematic policy from the Central Bank to withdraw damaged banknotes from circulation and replace them with new ones (a “clean currency” policy). Our role is to supply the required quantities, meeting international quality standards and specifications.
E.T : With the expansion of electronic payments, is the importance of printing currency declining?
Karouri: Despite the global proliferation of electronic payment methods, recent studies and academic papers presented at recent conferences indicate that the printing of physical currency continues to grow annually. Cash remains the most widely accepted and accessible medium of exchange—particularly in economies with significant informal (non-official) sectors, as well as during times of crisis or war. The optimal approach is to integrate cash with electronic payment systems, thereby broadening the range of options available to the public.

E.T: What is the company’s anticipated role during the recovery phase?
Karouri :We envision a pivotal role, building upon what we achieved even under the most difficult circumstances—namely, the continued supply of currency to the Central Bank, the expansion of secure government and high-value document production, the strengthening of strategic partnerships, and the maintenance of a contingency site system to ensure production continuity and broaden the scope of services the company provides.
We emphasize that our qualified and well-trained staff—whom the company has managed to retain despite these challenges—represent our true capital during this phase.

E.T : A final message to the company’s staff and the public??
Karouri: A banknote is a symbol of sovereignty, and securing it is an ongoing battle. In this endeavor, we are grateful for the support and cooperation of the Central Bank, as well as the profound and enduring trust it has placed in the Sudan Currency Printing Press. I also highly commend our company’s exceptionally qualified national workforce, who have upheld this national institution through extraordinary circumstances. Furthermore, I call upon all citizens to cooperate in protecting our national currency against counterfeiting.

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