The Lazarus Heist: The 'superdollar' that fooled the world

Hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of fake - but very realistic - $100 notes are believed to have been in circulation in the 1990s and 2000s. And US officials said they kept showing up in the hands of North Korean diplomats. North Korea denies any accusations it was involved in printing fake money.

After an eight-year undercover operation, the FBI launched two sting operations over the same weekend - a hoax wedding and a divorce party at the Playboy Mansion, both aimed at luring criminal contacts to the US.

It worked - and eighty-seven arrests were made in total. A new $100 bill was designed in 2013 in an attempt to stop it being copied. But it's believed a small number of superdollar fakes are still in circulation today.

There’s more on this and the story of an attempted billion dollar hack in The Lazarus Heist podcast from BBC World Service.

Artist: Choi Seong-Guk
Narrator: Geoff White
Producer: Méabh Ritchie

(Media: Drawing of a fake $100)