Bank of the Lao PDR issues fake notes warning
Bank of the Lao PDR issues fake notes warning
The Bank of the Lao PDR has issued a warning about fake currency circulating in the country, advising people to carefully inspect all the notes they are given during a transaction, especially when it's at local markets.
There are false 100,000 kip, 50,000 kip, 20,000 kip and 10,000 kip notes in circulation at the moment.
The authorities have recently arrested some people for forgery after making investigations into the false currency being discovered and they will be sent for trial and punishment under the law.
The fake currency is easy to detect as it is being produced on standard paper using a colour copier so it is very different from a genuine banknote.
The bank has advised everybody to carefully inspect any currency they receive to avoid being cheated.
Anyone found attempting to pass off false currency will be detained and liable to be fined and imprisoned under bank regulations and criminal law depending on the severity of the situation.
The bank issued advice to anyone receiving a fake banknote suggesting that they should immediately report it to the bank, police or local authorities giving details of where and when it was received so that the authorities could go and investigate.
The bank has recently discovered a few fake notes which have come from different places and at different times but it has not yet discovered any large quantities.
The bank warned, however, that the people who are trying to cheat will insert one or two fake notes in with a quantity of real ones hoping they will not get noticed, so when anyone receives a quantity of banknotes they should check each one before leaving.
This problem first happened many years ago and it took the participation of everyone to restore tourist and investor confidence in the country.
An officer of the bank commented that fake Lao currency is easy to detect but other currencies, especially the baht and US dollar, are much more difficult to spot.
vientiane times
