The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has announced it will sell its 50 per cent shareholding in Securency, the firm which allegedly bribed foreign officials in a bid to secure note-printing contracts.

The RBA sold its stake in the company to British firm Innovia, giving the UK-based company complete ownership of Securency.

“The sale of the Bank's interest in Securency is in accordance with the Bank's long-standing intention to exit from the joint venture once Securency had established itself as a viable long-term supplier in the international market for banknote substrate,” the RBA said in a statement.

According to the RBA, the bank has been intending to sell its stake in the company since 2010 when Innovia had agreed to sell off its stake with the RBA to the market. Subsequently, Innovia advised the RBA that it no longer wished to sell its shareholding and made an offer to purchase the RBA’s stake.

Under the terms of the sale, the Bank will receive initial payments of approximately $65 million for its shares, which exceeds the value of the Bank's investment in Securency in the Bank's 2011/12 financial accounts of $54 million.