Beware of counterfeits: the number of counterfeit hryvnia and dollars is growing in Ukraine
17 March 2025 15:50
The number of counterfeit hryvnia banknotes in circulation is growing in Ukraine. Last year, there were about 5.1 counterfeit hryvnia banknotes per 1 million genuine hryvnia banknotes, the National Bank reported. That is, after counterfeits were rare in 2022 and 2023, last year the number of counterfeits in circulation increased sharply.
The number of counterfeit US dollars also hit a record high.
This means that counterfeiters are up to their old tricks again, and now you need to be extremely careful and carefully check the hryvnia and foreign currency you receive.
According to the NBU, in 2024, the two most commonly withdrawn banknotes were: uAH 500 (78% of the total number of seized counterfeits) and UAH 200 (18%). However, counterfeits of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 1000 hryvnias were also found, but their share was only 4%.
Traditionally, old-style hryvnias were counterfeited first. The new design banknotes were rarely counterfeited, accounting for only 5.5% of the total number of counterfeits seized in the Ukrainian banking system. That is, for every 1 million newly designed banknotes, there were only 0.3 counterfeits. This is a good result in itself.
“Most of these counterfeit national currency notes were of poor quality and were designed to be negligent by citizens and cashiers of retail establishments,” the NBU said.
According to the report, among the counterfeit foreign currency banknotes withdrawn from circulation in 2024, US dollars prevailed – 93% of the total number of all withdrawn counterfeit foreign currency banknotes.
Last year, euro banknotes accounted for only 7% of the seized counterfeit foreign currency notes. Most often, criminals counterfeited foreign banknotes of the following denominations: – USD 100 and USD 50 (90% and 9% of the total number of seized counterfeit USD); – EUR 200, EUR 100 and EUR 50 (35%, 25% and 21% of the total number of seized counterfeit EUR, respectively).
Do not trust and check
The police said that last year they managed to detain members of a counterfeiting group in Lviv. The dealers sold 2006 $100 banknotes through currency exchange offices in the region in small batches of $1,000 to $3,500 or used them to buy household appliances and gadgets from private traders.
Police detained the organizers and five members of the organized group. The sellers received 20% of the remuneration from the amount of money sold. The police seized 23,000 dollars, 17,000 of which were counterfeit. They also seized 221,000 hryvnias, 9 premium cars, and draft records. According to intelligence, the dealers planned to release 100,000 counterfeit dollars to the consumer market, as they had been selling counterfeits for quite some time and thought they would not fall into the hands of law enforcement.
Vasyl Kovalchuk, a National Police investigator, told [comersant ] that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, counterfeiters have retrained and have been making counterfeit certificates, military registration documents, IDs, paternity certificates, and other documents that helped conscripts avoid not only service in the Armed Forces but also travel abroad.
“It turned out to be much more profitable. Everything is anonymous, through the mail, the risk of getting caught is minimal, although we have been caught, but the earnings are stable and high – a disability certificate is $3-8 thousand. But recently, the demand for counterfeit documents has decreased, and counterfeiters are gradually returning to their usual business – banknotes. It is clear that it is easier to counterfeit less secure banknotes, so they do it. Therefore, all Ukrainians need to be careful when receiving money. Do not trust and check each one,” the police officer emphasizes.
According to the police, counterfeit banknotes are usually made in an artisanal way. They are printed on an inkjet printer or using electrography (laser printing), as well as stencil printing and offset printing. Therefore, they are not of very high quality. Although sometimes even “souvenir” money is slipped to naive and gullible sellers, sometimes you can find quite high-quality “souvenirs”.
By the way, in 2023, there were about 2.1 counterfeit banknotes for every 1 million genuine ones. Most often, Ukrainians were slipping counterfeit banknotes of the old design, issued before 2015. First of all, the 200 UAH banknotes. Banks detected 61% of the total number of seized counterfeits and 41% of their total value. The 500 hryvnia banknotes accounted for 24% of the total number of seized counterfeits or 41% of their total value. Other counterfeit hryvnia banknotes withdrawn from circulation accounted for only 7%. Fraudsters are counterfeiting old-style banknotes because they are less secure, and until they are out of circulation, Ukrainians should be careful.
Author: Alla Dunina
