Istanbul Turkey’s markets are witnessing a crisis with the widespread spread of a large amount of counterfeit dollars in denominations of $50 and $100, amid estimates indicating that their total value may reach $600 million.
The crisis created a state of confusion among merchants and citizens, prompting banks and exchange offices to take exceptional measures to control the situation and limit the circulation of counterfeit currencies in the market.
With the inability of traditional devices to detect these counterfeit papers due to their high accuracy, fears have increased of serious repercussions that may affect confidence in financial transactions in the Turkish market.
According to the Habertürk newspaper, the origins of these counterfeit currencies go back outside Türkiye, where they were smuggled into the country via various routes including the Middle East, Asia, the Balkans, and Iran.
The crisis caused a partial disruption of the movement of the dollar within the markets, and prompted banks and exchange offices to take precautionary measures, most notably stopping accepting certain denominations, including $50 bills and old white issues of the $100 bill.
Official investigation
Today, Thursday, the Istanbul Public Prosecution opened an urgent investigation into the reports that caused a state of anxiety among exchange offices and citizens, focusing on tracking down the networks responsible for printing and distributing counterfeit currencies, with an emphasis on taking practical steps to undermine these illegal activities that threaten market stability.
In this context, the Turkish Banking Association announced measures to strengthen means of detecting counterfeit currencies, including modernizing money counting devices and ATMs. The Association confirmed in its statement that coordination is continuing with official authorities to ensure customer protection and the continuation of economic activities without interruption.
For its part, the Turkish Central Bank issued a statement stating that it is working in cooperation with judicial authorities to prepare technical reports on the recently discovered counterfeit currencies, explaining that these reports were shared with the banking sector to warn it of the risks, in addition to directing banks to take more stringent technical measures to combat counterfeiting and ensure… Stability of financial trading.
These joint efforts come at a time when Türkiye seeks to enhance investor and consumer confidence in its financial system, in the face of the challenges of illegal activities that may affect the stability of the national economy.
Serious crisis
Member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Licensed Exchange Offices, Mustafa Unver, pointed out that the Turkish markets are facing a serious crisis due to the spread of large quantities of counterfeit dollars that were printed in high quality, which makes distinguishing between them and the original currencies very difficult.
He explained that some of these currencies pass through money counting machines and ATMs without being detected, which increases the risk of the situation.
He stressed that exchange offices are currently working on updating the detection device software, but this process may take between a week and 10 days.
Unver called on dealers in Turkey to be extremely careful when dealing in dollars, stressing the need to limit their dealings to banks and licensed exchange offices, to avoid falling victim to counterfeit currencies that spread through illegal stores.
He stressed that cooperation between official authorities and citizens is the key to overcoming the crisis, noting that exchange offices are making every effort to improve their technological capabilities and provide a safe financial environment for everyone.
Strict warnings
For his part, Murat Karagül, director of one of the exchange offices in the Turkish capital, Ankara, said that they received a circular from the Association of Exchange Offices stating the need to be careful when dealing with banknotes of denominations of 50 and 100 dollars, especially old editions, due to doubts about the circulation of large quantities of currencies. Counterfeit in the Turkish market.
Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Karagol explained that the traditional devices available to them do not have sufficient ability to detect these counterfeit currencies easily, which prompted them to take strict precautionary measures.
Karagül added: “We have begun working according to a new system that stipulates that these cash denominations are not accepted except in rare cases, when the customer is known and trusted by us.”
He gave advice to tourists and visitors to Turkey during the coming period, saying: “We advise everyone to avoid bringing banknotes in denominations of 50 and 100 dollars, especially old editions, because they may face rejection by banks and exchange shops, which may cause them problems during their stay in Türkiye.”
In this context, citizen Ibrahim Atbash, who was present at the exchange shop, told (Al Jazeera Net) that this crisis places its greatest burden on the ordinary citizen who finds himself a victim of these counterfeit currencies.
Atbaş continued: “We hope that there will be concrete steps soon to contain this crisis, because its continuation harms the reputation of the Turkish economy, and leaves citizens in a state of confusion and fear when dealing in foreign currencies.”
Negative expectations
Economic analyst, Mustafa Akç, told Al Jazeera Net that the crisis of the spread of the counterfeit dollar in Turkey will contribute greatly to the exacerbation of the foreign exchange crisis that the country is suffering from.
Akoch explained that the lack of availability of the required foreign currencies in the local market will lead to a slowdown in import operations, and it is expected that financial and banking authorities will impose additional conditions, such as requiring guarantees before conducting any commercial or financial transactions.
The analyst added: “This situation may lead to not meeting the daily demand for the dollar, which may push citizens to retreat from investing in foreign currencies as a result of growing doubts about the reliability of these assets, which will significantly weaken demand for them.”
Akç pointed out that the counterfeit currency crisis is not a problem specific to Turkey alone, but rather it is a global phenomenon in which counterfeit currencies are attempted to be traded in many international markets, but he stressed that the complexity of the process of differentiating between counterfeit and real currencies, which requires conducting very precise tests, reflects the extent of the danger. This crisis and its negative impact on confidence in foreign currencies in Türkiye.
Akç explained that the decision of banks and exchange offices not to accept certain denominations of the dollar directly affects trade relations between Turkey and other countries, saying: “This decision will make countries and companies that deal commercially with Turkey reconsider the means of payment used, and this may prompt them to change mechanisms.” “This development undoubtedly constitutes a major blow to Turkey’s commercial reputation internationally, which may lead to a decline in confidence in it as a reliable economic partner.”
Akç concluded his speech by emphasizing that this crisis poses a new challenge to the Turkish economy, as it adds more pressure to the economic scene, which is already facing multiple difficulties.
