Bermuda should brace itself for a series of unprecedented million dollar white collar theft cases, the head of the Police fraud-busting unit warned yesterday.

Trials involving defendants suspected of stealing millions of dollars from several high-profile Island companies are in the pipeline, said Detective Inspector Nicholas Pedro.

He would not be drawn on details of specific cases, but told ums involved in the investigations ran into millions.

Det. Insp. Pedro added: ?There are some major cases that are going to significantly shatter previous cases in terms of monetary value.?

It is hard to predict exactly when these landmark frauds allegations will come to trial, but he said that, before the end of summer, there would probably be two or three significant cases in court, depending on charges being laid by the Department of Public Prosecutions.

Investigations are still ongoing in the cases, however, Det. Insp. Pedro said some frauds his team is working on may have been prevented if businesses and employers fully enforced ?checks and balances? already in place.

He continued: ?We sometimes find that businesses have controls in theory but they are not enforced.?

These include regular audits and correct overseeing of accounts. Changing staff responsibilities in the workplace also helped uncover financial wrongdoing, added the Detective.

White collar fraud is the biggest area his four-man Police Fraud Unit team is working on at the moment, the Detective stated. Other areas include stemming the flow of counterfeit bank notes and preventing e-mail fraud scams.

understands an investigation into reports of theft from the Bank of Butterfield, involving allegations cash machine funds were missing, is ongoing. Police yesterday said the investigation is continuing and would not comment further.

In a separate development, Det. Insp. Pedro issued a renewed warning to the public to be on their guard against counterfeit currency.

In the last fortnight officers estimate they have received up to $4,000 in fake notes with the volume of fakes causing concern.

?The value?s not great,? Det. Insp. Pedro told a press conference yesterday. ?But when you consider it?s 50 and 100 (denominations), there?s a lot of notes out there.?

He confirmed the relatively low figure of about $13,500 in false money came to Police throughout the whole of 2005.

The fraud chief rejected suggestions a sophisticated factory-style operation might be behind the current upsurge and said that, most probably, somebody with a computer is printing them off for a ?bit of extra play money?. He added: ?It could be kids at school.?

Det. Insp. Pedro said shopkeepers are on the front-line in the battle against ?funny money? ? and he said vigilance is the key in stemming the tide. Anyone who suspects a note is counterfeit should compare it to genuine currency and look for special security features.

Genuine notes have a metallic thread running through them, a more quality feel and a greater level of detail.

The print on fakes ? mostly coming off ink-jet printers ? is blotchy and will run when it comes into contact with water.

The ink on the butterfly on the top right hand corner of the $100 note changes colour, Police said, while the $50 notes has a watermark in the left hand corner.

The main fakes in circulation are Bermuda $50 and $100 notes, alongside US $20 notes. Police said Bermuda counterfeits are more common than American notes, and when US frauds were discovered they tended to be poor quality.

Police reminded counterfeit crooks that the punishment if caught includes up to five years in jail and fines of up to $250,000.

Anyone who receives a fake note should hand it to Police with a description of who passed it to them.