The purchase of dollars has been halted in the Grand Bazaar due to counterfeit money.

In Istanbul, some currency exchange offices in the Grand Bazaar have stopped buying dollars due to claims that counterfeit $50 and $100 banknotes printed abroad have been released into circulation.

DOLLARS OF 100 AND 50 ARE NOT BEING BOUGHT IN THE GRAND BAZAAR

Some currency exchange offices in the Grand Bazaar have posted warning brochures in workplaces regarding banknotes that their money counting machines could not distinguish from real ones. The poster using images of $100 and $50 states, "Due to the counterfeits in the market, the money in the visual will not be accepted."

İbrahim Halil Hüseyin, who stated that he came to exchange his $50 at the currency exchange office, told reporters, "I received a negative response from the office; they did not exchange the $50. I guess it's because it's old. My dollar is not counterfeit; I bought it from here 7 months ago, and when I went to the next place, they also did not accept it. We will wait; there is nothing we can do."

"THE AMOUNT OF COUNTERFEIT DOLLARS IS UNKNOWN"

Merchant Reşat Yılmaz also stated that they are waiting for an explanation from the authorities, saying, "A troubled period is being experienced regarding the dollar. There is more trouble with what we call the white dollar. The $50 is leading the way. When such a situation arises, it also creates difficulties in the buying and selling of real $50 bills. Because the amount of counterfeit dollars is still unknown."

Yılmaz, despite being a tradesman for 40 years, expressed that he also has difficulty distinguishing counterfeit dollars, stating, "These counterfeit dollars need to be collected. This will take about 2 weeks. Citizens should not panic. Things will settle down. It also goes through the machines. Once the machines are updated, the problem will be solved."