Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ASHGABAT1225
2009-09-28 07:23:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:
COUNTERFEIT TURKMEN CURRENCY DISCOVERED
how-toVZCZCXRO5590 PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHBC RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHDE RUEHDF RUEHDIR RUEHIK RUEHKUK RUEHLH RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNEH RUEHPW RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHTRO RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHAH #1225 2710723 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 280723Z SEP 09 FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3521 INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 5715 RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING PRIORITY 3430 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 3294 RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 3958
UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001225
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, INL/AAE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KCRM SOCI TX
SUBJECT: COUNTERFEIT TURKMEN CURRENCY DISCOVERED
UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001225
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, INL/AAE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KCRM SOCI TX
SUBJECT: COUNTERFEIT TURKMEN CURRENCY DISCOVERED
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public
Internet.
2. (U) SUMMARY: Quantities of counterfeit Turkmen
currency, the "manat," reportedly have been printed in
the past few months and are circulating in the country.
Warnings were distributed in government agencies to check
the genuineness of local currency that is received in all
financial transactions. Lately, a recent university
graduate in computer science from Mary was arrested for
counterfeiting. Local law enforcement agents admit the
presence of counterfeit bills, however it is unclear
whether or not all the fake bills have been detected and
completely withdrawn from circulation. END SUMMARY.
3. (U) The Turkmen manat was redenominated in January,
accompanied by the issuance of new banknotes and coins.
In the past few months, counterfeit manat bills
reportedly have been printed and circulated in the
country. Although this information has not been
announced in the local press, several sources have
reported to Embassy staff that government offices have
been told to take precautions when receiving currency.
Several Embassy staff have recently noticed that all
manats handled in transactions at exchange points and
banks are being checked with ultraviolet lamps, a
practice that has not been seen previously. Cashiers at
state-owned commercial enterprises, such as the national
airline and railroad, that receive large amounts of cash
on a regular basis from ticket sales, have also been seen
checking every single bill. Similarly, cashiers at the
largest shopping center in Ashgabat, the Turkish-owned
"Yimpas," have also been observed checking the currency
that they receive.
4. (SBU) According to a law enforcement contact from
Mary, a Turkmen-Turkish University graduate in computer
science was recently arrested for producing counterfeit
manats in a lab that he operated in his home in
Turkmengala village in Mary. Police reportedly seized
fake 20 manat notes with a face value of 40,000 manats
(approximately USD 14,000). The arrested individual
claimed that he had used only 30 of the notes (with total
face value of 600 manats) at local markets, but some Mary
residents say that more of the notes have been found in
circulation.
5. (SBU) A police captain in Ashgabat confirmed that
counterfeit manats have been produced and spread
throughout the capital and provinces. He could not,
however, specify the quantity of such notes or their
total face value. Contacted by phone, he said "I don't
deny that the production and distribution of fake manats
has occurred. A number have been discovered in the past
months."
6. (SBU) COMMENT: Before the manat was re-denominated on
January 1, the highest value banknote in circulation was
10,000 "old manat," worth about 70 U.S. cents and not
worth the effort to make fakes. The new banknotes, with
their significantly higher values, offer the needed
incentive for counterfeiters. Turkmenistan has a cash
economy, and such counterfeit bills could easily be
circulated through local bazaars (where the majority of
the vendors tend to be elderly women),as well as through
unofficial money changers found everywhere in the
country. The government will need to act fast to stop
the counterfeiters if it is going to maintain public
confidence in the manat. END COMMENT.
CURRAN
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR SCA/CEN, INL/AAE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KCRM SOCI TX
SUBJECT: COUNTERFEIT TURKMEN CURRENCY DISCOVERED
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public
Internet.
2. (U) SUMMARY: Quantities of counterfeit Turkmen
currency, the "manat," reportedly have been printed in
the past few months and are circulating in the country.
Warnings were distributed in government agencies to check
the genuineness of local currency that is received in all
financial transactions. Lately, a recent university
graduate in computer science from Mary was arrested for
counterfeiting. Local law enforcement agents admit the
presence of counterfeit bills, however it is unclear
whether or not all the fake bills have been detected and
completely withdrawn from circulation. END SUMMARY.
3. (U) The Turkmen manat was redenominated in January,
accompanied by the issuance of new banknotes and coins.
In the past few months, counterfeit manat bills
reportedly have been printed and circulated in the
country. Although this information has not been
announced in the local press, several sources have
reported to Embassy staff that government offices have
been told to take precautions when receiving currency.
Several Embassy staff have recently noticed that all
manats handled in transactions at exchange points and
banks are being checked with ultraviolet lamps, a
practice that has not been seen previously. Cashiers at
state-owned commercial enterprises, such as the national
airline and railroad, that receive large amounts of cash
on a regular basis from ticket sales, have also been seen
checking every single bill. Similarly, cashiers at the
largest shopping center in Ashgabat, the Turkish-owned
"Yimpas," have also been observed checking the currency
that they receive.
4. (SBU) According to a law enforcement contact from
Mary, a Turkmen-Turkish University graduate in computer
science was recently arrested for producing counterfeit
manats in a lab that he operated in his home in
Turkmengala village in Mary. Police reportedly seized
fake 20 manat notes with a face value of 40,000 manats
(approximately USD 14,000). The arrested individual
claimed that he had used only 30 of the notes (with total
face value of 600 manats) at local markets, but some Mary
residents say that more of the notes have been found in
circulation.
5. (SBU) A police captain in Ashgabat confirmed that
counterfeit manats have been produced and spread
throughout the capital and provinces. He could not,
however, specify the quantity of such notes or their
total face value. Contacted by phone, he said "I don't
deny that the production and distribution of fake manats
has occurred. A number have been discovered in the past
months."
6. (SBU) COMMENT: Before the manat was re-denominated on
January 1, the highest value banknote in circulation was
10,000 "old manat," worth about 70 U.S. cents and not
worth the effort to make fakes. The new banknotes, with
their significantly higher values, offer the needed
incentive for counterfeiters. Turkmenistan has a cash
economy, and such counterfeit bills could easily be
circulated through local bazaars (where the majority of
the vendors tend to be elderly women),as well as through
unofficial money changers found everywhere in the
country. The government will need to act fast to stop
the counterfeiters if it is going to maintain public
confidence in the manat. END COMMENT.
CURRAN