SOCIETY | 21:23 / 24.01.2022
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“A large amount of counterfeit currency has entered the market” – CB Chairman

The CB Chairman, Mamarizo Nurmuratov, said that a large amount of counterfeit currency had entered the Uzbek market. Because ATMs do not detect counterfeit banknotes, their operation is temporarily limited. Nurmuratov also expressed his views on private currency exchange offices.

Фото: AP

A large amount of counterfeit foreign currency has entered the Uzbek market, the chairman of the Central Bank Mamarizo Nurmuratov reported. According to him, this is the reason why currency ATMs stopped working on weekends.

“It is true that there have been interruptions in the operation of ATMs on Saturdays and Sundays recently, but this has not happened due to poor performance. The fact is that a large number of counterfeit currencies have entered our markets. ATMs can’t recognize them. That’s why we restricted the use of most ATMs on Saturdays and Sundays. We are currently changing the program of ATMs, and this issue will be resolved,” the Central Bank head said.

According to Mamarizo Nurmuratov, the publication of information on the official websites of banks on weekends can serve as a solution to the problem.

Gazeta.uz reported that the Single Republican Processing Center (Uzcard) plans to restore the function of ATMs accepting $50 and $100 banknotes at the end of January 2022. This feature was temporarily disabled in late September.

The head of the Central Bank also answered a question on the opening of private exchange offices in Uzbekistan.

“The Central Bank has a strong position on this issue. Based on the requirements of the FATF International Organization (a major developer of global standards in the field of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing), we limit this. In other words, due to the FATF’s demands to fight against money laundering through criminal activity or the shadow economy, we have not yet reached a consensus on allowing private companies to open exchange offices,” Nurmuratov said.

In mid-December last year, the Antimonopoly Committee presented to the public a draft presidential decree allowing the operation of private exchange offices.

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