The massive increase of fake 2 euro coins in the Kosovo market is challenging the citizens and some businesses in the country. Citizens are upset that they are dealing with counterfeit 2 euro coins.
This phenomenon has become disturbing for citizens, some businesses have started not to accept 2-euro coins at all. Likewise, some public carriers in Pristina are not accepting these from travelers.
The owner of a market in Pristina, Fidaim Rushiti, emphasizes that he is not accepting 2-euro bills, and also according to him, they are not being accepted by consumers even if they are original.
"At the moment we are not accepting fake 2 euros, we have stopped them, we are not taking them, we are not going to give out fake ones. Only the original and most consumers are not getting the two euros even if they are original, only 1 euro, 50 cents. At the moment, the two euros want to leave the function. Most have started with identification", says Rushiti.
The citizen Mentor Isufi says that it is not right that markets do not accept coins from 2 euros, because according to him, by law they are obliged to accept any currency.
"Until now I have not had a problem, now I came across a small market that had marked that they do not accept two euros, in some way they probably do not have the right, because by law they are obliged to accept any currency, even a cent must be accepted. But now this affair that happened with 2 fake euros, we don't have a way to identify whether they are fake, neither we nor the markets... It's a very big problem, I believe that the state is also having problems, so these the currency should be removed from the market by the state", emphasized Isufi.
Meanwhile, another citizen, Shaban Kurtolli, has shown how to identify the money.
"2 euro coins have been on the market for a long time, now we need the magnet, because they are made of iron and these are aluminum", said Kurtolli.
Meanwhile, Pajtim Çuni shared his experience saying that he has had problems with this money for almost a week.
"Whether they are original or not, I don't know, but there have been a few days since the majority of markets and public transport do not accept 2 euros. This has been a challenge for us since last Friday. It would have been good if the competent authorities had reacted in order to make a solution, not to leave the consumers in these dilemmas", he emphasized.
The Central Bank of Kosovo in a written response to KosovaPress stated that the CBK is being coordinated in an inter-institutional aspect with the responsible bodies to support them in their actions to limit and prevent this activity, offering cooperation and professional support.
"The Central Bank of Kosovo does not have and cannot have information on the number of counterfeit coins in circulation since this activity is illegal and a criminal offense according to the law. Within its responsibilities, the CBK is coordinating in an inter-institutional manner with the responsible bodies to support them in their actions to limit and prevent this activity, offering all the necessary cooperation and professional support. Even the recently undertaken and ongoing activities have the contribution of the CBK and emerge from this coordination and institutional interaction," the CBK replied in an email.
In a written response, the Kosovo Police said that in the first six months of this year, they initiated and handled 486 cases for extortion money.
"During the last year (2022), the police initiated 804 cases of "Forgery of money", while in the first six months of this year (2023) they initiated and handled 486 such cases," says the police's written response.
Meanwhile, the former governor of CBK, Fehmi Mehmeti, called on all citizens and businesses to avoid payments in cash or opportunities to come into contact with coins.
He said that merchants and citizens have unknown experiences with counterfeit money, while banking institutions face these types of coins many times and the methods used to identify them are perfect.
Meanwhile, some businesses have started not to accept coins from 2 euros, even if they are original. Some businesses also notify consumers that "the 2 euro coin is not accepted"./ KSP