The Master's Touch: How One Elderly Painter Drew 97% of China's Counterfeit Currency

The Unassuming Epicenter of a Criminal Empire

In the world of high-stakes crime, the masterminds are often imagined as shadowy figures commanding networks from sterile, high-tech command centers. The reality behind China’s largest counterfeiting crisis was far more analogue. It centered on Peng Daxiang, a 73-year-old painter from Shanwei in Guangdong province, a man whose community knew him for his artistic talent, not as the technical linchpin of a multi-million yuan criminal enterprise. By the time of his arrest, an astonishing 97 percent of all fake banknotes circulating in China could be traced back to the templates born from his steady hand.

The Artist's Hand

Peng was not just a hired hand; he was the source. Since the 1990s, his unique skill set made him invaluable to counterfeiters. While gangs handled the complex logistics of printing and distribution, they were utterly dependent on the quality of the initial master plates. These were Peng’s domain. Using little more than a pen, a drawing board, and his profound understanding of art and printing, he would meticulously replicate the intricate designs of the 100-yuan banknote. His work was so precise, his forgeries so convincing, that they formed the foundation for a vast and profitable criminal industry. He was, as police would later describe him, the operation’s “technical backbone.”

A Lucrative Side Hustle

This was no starving artist's desperate act. Peng’s talent commanded a premium. Criminal syndicates paid him handsomely for his master plates, with a single set fetching between 50,000 and 120,000 yuan (roughly $8,000 to $19,000 USD). He sold these templates to various gangs, effectively franchising his fraudulent art and allowing for the mass production of banknotes that would eventually flood the country. His quiet life as a painter concealed a career as one of the most prolific and impactful counterfeiters in modern history.

Operation Typhoon

The scale of the operation eventually drew the intense focus of Chinese authorities. A sprawling investigation, code-named “Typhoon No. 3,” targeted the network that was churning out these flawless fakes. The trail of counterfeit cash led them not to a state-of-the-art facility, but back to Guangdong province. In September 2013, police conducted a massive raid in the city of Jieyang, uncovering a printing den and seizing an incredible 210 million yuan ($34 million) in counterfeit currency. The raid dismantled a 17-member gang, but the most crucial arrest was yet to come. The investigation had finally led police to the quiet artist at the heart of it all: Peng Daxiang.

Peng Daxiang’s artistic skill was the single point of failure for the Chinese economy's fight against counterfeit money. His work enabled the creation of billions in fake currency, all originating from his hand-drawn templates.

His capture marked the end of an era. In 2014, Peng was sentenced to life in prison, his artistic legacy forever intertwined with the chaos his creations caused. The story serves as a peculiar testament to the power of individual talent. It reveals that sometimes the most disruptive force isn’t a new technology or a vast organization, but the singular, irreplaceable skill of a master craftsman who chose to apply his genius to the art of deception.

Sources

• Master forger's drawings used in 96% of fake notes - China Daily
• Master forger's drawings used in 96% of fake notes - Ecns.cn
• [PDF] Master forger's drawings used in 96% of fake notes - China Daily
• Elderly painter behind 97 per cent of fake Chinese banknotes
• Content Posted in 2023 | UNL Institutional Repository