On July 1st, new Belarusian money will be introduced

On July 1st, new Belarusian money will be introduced. Experts describe how counterfeit notes can be distinguished and what measures should be taken to make sure you are not deceived.


“Belarusian money will boast all the necessary protective measures used by advanced countries,” explains the Head of the Chief Department for Criminal Expertise at the State Committee of Court Expertise’s Central Organ — Dmitry Gulidin. “However, our country has advanced even further: starting from Br50, our banknotes will use an additional element: MASK-protection. No other currencies of the world use anything of the kind.”

According to Mr. Gulidin, most forgeries are made with the help of devices readily to hand, such as scanners and colour printers. These ‘banknotes’ are of poor quality and can be easily tested for their authenticity. “However, criminals do not wait for the launch of the new denomination,” the official warned. “For example, in late 2015, the Brest Department of Internal Affairs recorded that a twenty year old resident of Baranovichi approached some pensioners attempting to exchange Br16m for ‘new’ money.”

The General-Mayor of Justice and the Deputy Chairman of the State Committee of Court Expertise — Sergey Yevmenenko — warns that such crimes can easily be repeated, “A new wave of bad quality ‘money’ is possible and we should beware of more sophisticated forgeries appearing on the market.”