David Post reports in Het Financieele Dagblad about the issuing of a new currency called "Raam" (which translates as Window). The central bank DNB said it would launch an investigation into possible legal violations.
The Raam (see Ceejee for image) is issued by an organisation founded by Maharishi Yogi. The Raam is printed by Johan Enschede (printer of numerous bank notes all around the world, including the Euro) and is issued in denominations of 1, 5 and 10 raam. One Raam is worth 10 euro.
The Raam was issued on 19 October 2002, with Limburgs Dagblad having the first article:
Vlodrop. The Fortis-bank issues the new currency of the Maharishi- the name is Raam- only at the Roermond branch. This was emphasized by Fortis yesterday, a day on which collectors and those interested from all over the country started to learn how to become owners of the new Raam notes.
According to spokesman M. Bongaerts of Fortis Nederland, the bank only sells the notes in Roermond as a service to Maharishi, an important customer of Fortis. The Maharishi wants to use the currency to supply Third-World countries with a strong inflation-resistant currency. The notes will be used primarily to finance organic agriculture projects.
