2017-06-24 Sat

A gang of four people in Bangalore, trying to sell 78 invalid and demonetized banknotes to a businessman for 2.7 million rupees was recently busted. The gang also comprised of a 40-year-old police officer.

There are reports that it was a part of an international currency racket. They had smuggled the demonetized banknotes into India through the hawala money transfer method. The businessmen suspected that they were being cheated because the real worth of those notes was Rs. 71 crore as per current exchange rates. The gang was arrested when they were doing their deal.

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) issued banknotes and coins called "New Turkish lira" (YTL) on 1st December 2005. In this process, the high denomination notes were scrapped. Old notes became invalid after 1st January 2006. A 10-year transition period was set for replacing the old banknotes. Information on valid, withdrawn and counterfeit Turkish banknotes is specified on CBRT's official website.

The hawala system is based on money brokers and passwords used by recipients. It is common in Middle East, North Africa, Horn of Africa and India. Five similar cases were reported in India this year.