BEIJING - Chinese police have confiscated around 243 million yuan ($38 million) in fake currency notes this year, the Ministry of Public Security said Tuesday.

The ministry said in a statement that the situation concerning counterfeiting crimes has improved in China thanks to the continued efforts by police across the country.

The police had investigated 509 counterfeit money-related criminal cases as of August this year, down 52 from the same period of last year, the ministry said.

The ministry's figures showed that the monthly average number of new such cases under police investigation dropped from 398 in 2009, to 125 in 2010, and further to some 64 this year, a 10-year low.

The number of reported fake money criminal cases continued to decrease for 22 consecutive months from November 2009 to August this year, according to the ministry.