Germany's central bank is shelving plans to help fight currency counterfeiting in Bangladesh because of reports the country is planning to include execution among the possible punishments for violators.

The Bundesbank said it wouldn't move ahead with its offer of consultation and training to the central bank of Bangladesh, after media reports about the proposals.

The Bundesbank said Thursday that while it "believes that counterfeiting is a serious criminal offence, it considers the threat of imposing the death penalty to be excessive."

It said it didn't know of the proposals when it agreed to the project, which was to start next month. It said it would not participate unless the plans are definitively dropped.