Some section of Ugandans has illegally created a Shs 100,000 note contrary to rules set by Bank of Uganda.
“It has come to the attention of the Bank of Uganda that unknown individuals have created and are circulating an image of a bank note of UGX. 100,000 purportedly issued by Bank of Uganda,” the central bank said in a statement late Tuesday.
“This is illegal,” it warned.
Bank of Uganda informed the public that it has not issued any new denomination of Uganda currency and does not plan to do so in the near future.
“The individuals circulating these illegal images are hereby warned to stop doing so with immediate effect”.
It warned that misinformation of this nature has the potential to cause confusion and disruption of normal economic activities especially among members of the public in rural areas.
“The public is urged to ignore the image as a hoax and report known perpetrators to Bank of Uganda.”
“The Bank of Uganda provides conditions for legitimate entities intending to use images of legal tender for their publications.”
The production of ‘novelty’ currency bearing features and denominations alien to Uganda’s legal tender is expressly forbidden and punishable under the law, the bank further warned.
Under section 120(373) of the Penal Code, it is a criminal offence for any person, without the prior consent in writing of Bank of Uganda, to reproduce on any substance whatsoever, and whether or not on the correct scale, any Bank of Uganda banknote/coin or any part of a Bank of Uganda banknote.
Bank of Uganda also owns the copyright in its banknotes and coins.
[Credit:theinsider Uganda]