Foreign national jailed for 6 years for circulating $36,300 worth of fake bills in Vietnam

The An Giang People’s Court handed down the sentence to Nasyrov Odiljon Murzaalimjonovich on Thursday after a first-instance trial on charges of possessing and circulating counterfeit money.

The case stemmed from a series of transactions carried out during the defendant’s tourist stay in Vietnam in late 2024.

According to the indictment, Odiljon traveled to Turkey in April 2024, when he met a man identified only as Ali, whose background remains unknown.

During that trip, Ali offered to sell counterfeit U.S. dollars at half their face value.

In October 2024, Odiljon agreed to buy $30,000 in fake banknotes, all in $100 denominations, paying $15,000 in genuine currency.

He was also given additional counterfeit bills of the same type.

On December 23, 2024, Odiljon entered Vietnam as a tourist along with two friends and traveled to Phu Quoc.

He concealed the counterfeit money in his checked luggage upon arrival.

From December 25 to 27, Odiljon divided the fake cash among his two companions without informing them that the banknotes were counterfeit.

Together, the group used the money to shop and exchange currency at 21 locations across Phu Quoc.

Investigators determined that the group managed to circulate a total of $14,400 in counterfeit bills, illegally obtaining nearly VND354 million ($13,500) worth of cash and goods.

On the morning of December 27, several recipients discovered the U.S. dollars they had received were fake and reported the matter to local police.

Officers then launched an urgent investigation and arrested Odiljon shortly afterward.

A search of his residence led to the seizure of an additional $21,900 in counterfeit banknotes, along with various amounts of genuine cash, foreign currency, and related evidence.

Authorities concluded that Odiljon had possessed and circulated a total of $36,300 in counterfeit money.

His two companions were found to have been unaware that the money was fake and therefore were not held criminally liable. They later left Vietnam.