Ukraine parliament member and advisor to Interior Minister says Russia has transfered counterfeiting equipment to Donbass rebels in order to “finish off” the hrynya

This article originally appeared at TSN - Televіzіjna Sluzhba Novin - 'TV News Service'. Translated by J. Hawk at Fort Russ

The Kremlin is preparing a plan to “finish off” the Ukrainian hryvnya and are sending equipment to make counterfeit money, says the TV show Groshi [pennies].

The Rada Deputy and MVD advisor Anton Gerashchenko recently announced that such equipment is being transferred to Eastern Ukraine.

“Russia is sending weapons, ammunition, medicine, but it’s not giving the militants [sic] money…However, it’s come to our attention that they are sending equipment to make counterfeit money.”

The first victim of the LPR fakes was an inhabitant of the Kherson region, who was given counterfeits as change.

“He received these bills from an inhabitant of Zaporozhye, who in turn got them from someone in Lugansk region,” said Andrey Plyushkin, the director of Novokakhovka MVD department in the Kherson region.

The police are warning that the counterfeits are mixed with genuine bills, to make detection harder. The Kherson farmer received 50 thousand genuine and 36 thousand counterfeit hryvnya printed in LPR.

MVD says that the amount of counterfeit money is growing, as they are arriving from occupied [sic] territories.

“The counterfeits may be printed on Russia-provided equipment in Donetsk and Lugansk regions which are not under the control of Ukrainian law enforcement,” Plyushkin added.

The LPR and DPR notes are easily recognizable by touch. If one looks at them carefully, they are also missing the magnetic stripe.

Groshi journalists wanted to learn how severe the situation is with the counterfeits. No official agency answered their request, only the National Bank of Ukraine sent a statement concerning the past year in an effort to calm things down.

“Overall, for every million genuine hryvnya notes there are three counterfeits (in 2013 there were 3.5, in 2012 4.1). Therefore the proportion of counterfeit money is stable and low.

At the same time, journalists advise Ukrainians to check what money they are being given.