Chairman of Authorized Currency Exchange Offices: “News claiming there are 600 million dollars in counterfeit money is completely false”

Counterfeit dollars have been circulated in the market. While an investigation is underway, TÜYEMDER’s (Association of All Authorized Institutions and Currency Exchange Offices) Chairman of the Board, Mehti Şeren, made a statement at the Grand Bazaar. Showing two counterfeit dollars, Şeren said, “The news claiming that there are 600 million dollars or 1 million dollars in counterfeit money is completely false.”

There had been claims that counterfeit 50 and 100-dollar banknotes, printed abroad, had been released into circulation in Istanbul, and as a result, some currency exchange offices at the Grand Bazaar had stopped buying dollars. In connection with this, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had initiated an investigation into the production and distribution of counterfeit money.

Mehti Şeren, Chairman of TÜYEMDER, held a press conference at the Grand Bazaar regarding the counterfeit dollar banknotes circulating in the market. Şeren’s statement is as follows:

“ALL OF IT IS FALSE AND UNFOUNDED”

“A panic atmosphere is being created based on rumors rather than concrete evidence regarding counterfeit money. As a representative of the sector, through our efforts with all members and on-site work, we have not come across any of the counterfeit money mentioned in the claims. As a result of a week’s work, we have only encountered two counterfeit banknotes across Turkey. We have not found any other counterfeit money. I also sent a message this morning to all the exchange offices in Turkey, saying, ‘If you have any counterfeit money, please share it with us.’ We were only able to get these two notes. These do not pass through our machines.”

The news claiming that there are 600 million dollars or 1 million dollars in counterfeit money is completely false. Let alone 600 million dollars or 1 billion dollars in counterfeit money, there isn’t even a thousand dollars in counterfeit bills in circulation. TÜYEMDER member currency exchange offices and other authorized institutions have the necessary technology and expertise to detect counterfeit money. It is impossible for such money to pass through our exchange office counters. Unauthorized operations by illegal businesses, jewelers, and money transfer centers increase the risk of counterfeit money. I would like to warn once again: counterfeit money can only be distributed to the public through jewelers, money transfer centers, and unqualified personnel and equipment.”