In Almaty, the Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM) identified a group of individuals involved in the distribution of counterfeit US dollars.
According to the agency's press service, during a search at the residence of one of the offenders, counterfeit 100-dollar banknotes were found, totalling 149 notes ($14,900). The suspects were arrested and placed in custody.
In the West Kazakhstan Region (WKR), the agency suspects a group of individuals of distributing counterfeit $25,000 and €10,000 in one of the lottery clubs in Uralsk. The suspects used this money to top up accounts for placing bets.
A pre-trial restraint measure in the form of detention was chosen for the distributor of counterfeit money with the sanction of the court.
It has been reported that since the beginning of the year, 1,060 counterfeit banknotes have been removed from circulation in Kazakhstan, including 141 notes in national currency amounting to 647,000 tenge, 905 notes worth $90,400, 4 notes worth $2,000, and 10 notes totalling ¥1,000. The total value of confiscated counterfeit banknotes exceeded 43 million tenge.
Overall, this year 8 individuals have been convicted for the production and distribution of counterfeit notes. They were sentenced to imprisonment for terms ranging from 5 to 6 years.
It is worth recalling that in Almaty in July last year, a group of individuals was detained who, using the purchase of cryptocurrency as a pretext, attempted to sell counterfeit 100-dollar banknotes totalling $20,300.
At the same time, in Kostanay, 5 individuals were convicted for storing and distributing counterfeit US dollars in the Kostanay region and Astana city.
In March of this year, the AFM of Shymkent detained a group of individuals while attempting to sell counterfeit banknotes worth $84,200.