In Dushanbe, police officers in the Sino district seized a large batch of counterfeit currency: 70 500 somoni banknotes, 46 200 somoni banknotes and 9 5000 Russian rubles banknotes, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the capital reports.
The fakes were found in the possession of Dodihudo Sadiyev, a 27–year-old resident of Dushanbe, who was detained on suspicion of distributing counterfeit currency.
Counterfeit bills were imported from other countries, which ones are not said.
The agency notes that news about the appearance of fake somoni has been actively spreading on social networks lately, which has caused concern among residents of the city.
The case of the seizure of counterfeit bills is not the first in recent times.
In July, Toirshokh Catamardov was detained on suspicion of distributing counterfeit dollars. At the same time, another resident of the capital was detained on suspicion of manufacturing and issuing counterfeit somoni.
Earlier, in June, a number of media outlets, referring to the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), reported the appearance of counterfeit somoni in circulation. Allegedly, the corresponding letter was sent to authorized banks. However, NBT later denied this information.
According to the National Bank, since the beginning of the year, no cases of counterfeit somoni have been detected in the country. The NBT press service clarified that the letter was sent to financial institutions, credit organizations and currency exchange offices as part of preventive measures and the implementation of a work plan – in order to increase vigilance during monetary transactions.
Nevertheless, the National Bank urged the population and financial institutions of the country to be vigilant and ready to prevent such illegal actions.
How to identify a fake?
Pay attention to the shiny stripe on the bill. On counterfeit bills, it often overlaps part of the image, which is a sign of forgery.
To identify counterfeit money, put a questionable bill next to the real one and carefully compare them. It is best to use a magnifying glass to study small texts.
