A counterfeit 5,000 Russian rouble banknote was discovered at a bank branch in Homiel after it was submitted for deposit into a company’s bank account.
According to the State Forensic Examination Committee, the incident occurred in late June. A Homiel resident visited a bank branch to carry out a cash transaction. While checking the banknotes, the cashier became suspicious about the authenticity of one of them and activated the alarm.
Experts from the Homiel Interdistrict Department of the State Forensic Examination Committee concluded that the banknote had not been produced by an authorised banknote manufacturer.
The examination found that the images on both sides of the note, including the imitation security fibres, had been created using colour inkjet printing. The only exception was the image of the coat of arms of the city of Khabarovsk.
The man told investigators that he works for a company engaged in wholesale trade in Belarus and Russia. The company’s bank account is registered in Belarus, so all cash received from sales in Russia is transported to Belarus, deposited into the company’s account and then converted into Belarusian rubles. On this occasion, however, the deposit was interrupted after the suspected counterfeit note was identified.
A criminal case has been opened.
