Turkey seizes $271 million in counterfeit U.S. currency
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish authorities confiscated about $271 million in fake U.S. $100 banknotes in a raid on an Istanbul printing press - the country’s biggest counterfeit currency seizure in recent years, Hurriyet newspaper reported on Monday.
The raid was carried out on Friday in Istanbul’s Esenyurt neighborhood and five people were arrested, it said.
Hurriyet said one of those arrested was previously released after being detained for suspected membership in a network that Ankara blames for orchestrating a failed military coup in 2016.
Turkish authorities accuse the leader of this network, U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, of masterminding the attempted putsch in July 2016. He has denied any involvement.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-crime/turkey-seizes-271-million-in-counterfeit-u-s-currency-newspaper-idUSKCN1UH1W1