On January 12, Vitebsk / Olga Bogacheva - BELTA /. A pensioner from Lepel district was caught selling counterfeit money, the Lepel District Department of Internal Affairs informed a BELTA correspondent. In a gazebo on the outskirts of his native village, the 63-year-old man found torn banknotes of Br50 thousand. Upon closer inspection, he became convinced that the money was counterfeit. Despite this, the villager taped the discovered banknotes together and even purchased groceries worth Br100 thousand from a mobile shop of the local consumer cooperative. The suspicious banknotes aroused suspicion in the saleswoman, but the woman was able to confirm this later when cashing up the proceeds. During a search of the pensioner's house, law enforcement officers discovered another 14 banknotes of the same denomination. In a conversation with police officers, the Lepel resident admitted that he knew they were counterfeit, but still planned to sell them. A criminal case has been initiated against the pensioner under Part 1 of Article 227 of the Criminal Code of Belarus (manufacturing, storage or sale of counterfeit money or securities), which provides for up to 7 years of imprisonment with possible confiscation of property. An investigation is underway. -0-

BELTA