The incident occurred at a petrol station in Złotoryja. – One of the customers asked a station employee to exchange his money for smaller denominations. For this purpose, he handed the cashier a 100-zloty banknote – reports Staff Sergeant Dominika Kwakszys, press officer of the Złotoryja police. – When the employee was checking the authenticity of the banknote, the man grabbed the exchanged money and left the station.
It did not help much. The “clever” criminal was apprehended by the cashier and other customers at the premises, and a police patrol was called to the scene.
It quickly became clear that the paper used by the man was not legal tender but a so-called souvenir banknote. Although it was indeed very similar to the original, it was immediately given away by the words “souvenir” and “not legal tender” printed on both sides.
The man was detained by the police, and the banknote was secured. Złotoryja District Police Headquarters:
On the basis of the evidence collected, officers charged the detained 39-year-old with fraud. The court will now deal with his case. He faces up to 8 years in prison for this offence.
They add:
Police officers draw attention to the need to carefully check banknotes that pass through our hands. Souvenir banknotes are intended for entertainment, games and educational purposes. As a rule, they bear the words “souvenir” and “not legal tender”. Their sale is not prohibited, but attempting to pay with this “money” constitutes fraud punishable by up to 8 years in prison.
We have already reported on similar cases in our pages, including in the article Another man paid with a 200-zloty banknote bearing the word “souvenir”.