Nine pre-trial proceedings for the release of counterfeit euro banknotes into circulation have been initiated since the beginning of the year in Varna. The counterfeit money is in denominations of 20, 50, 100 and 200 euros. Their total value is several hundred euros, and single pieces are most often detected. Usually, the counterfeit currency is put into circulation by making purchases in commercial establishments, reports BNT.
The quality of the seized counterfeit euro banknotes is very good and people who still have difficulty recognizing the new currency can easily be misled, say the prosecutor's office.
– I think I will recognize them. By the four signs.
– I look, by roughness, by light, by color. That's how I recognize them.
– I keep looking, looking at what they mostly give me back, I'm managing for now. First, you have to feel things and there the sign, which is actually against the light. That's more or less what I understood.
– No, I can't tell, I don't know, at this stage. Let's hope it won't happen to me.
Most often, signals to the police and the prosecutor's office about counterfeit money are filed by sellers in commercial establishments where an attempt is made to pay with counterfeit euro banknotes.
Radoslav Lazarov, District Prosecutor's Office - Varna: "This act is also accompanied by fraud, because by passing the counterfeit money sign, the person pays for a service or a good and thus causes property damage. Possession of counterfeit banknotes in large quantities is also criminalized."
The prosecutor's office calls on citizens to obtain information about the new currency only from official sources.
Radoslav Lazarov, District Prosecutor's Office - Varna: "They should be careful. If they come across counterfeit currency, they should not try to put it back into circulation, because then they would be committing a crime, but should simply report it to the law enforcement agencies and act in accordance with their instructions."
The law provides for imprisonment of two to eight years for distributing counterfeit banknotes.