Claim: Newly printed Rs 5,000 notes featuring the face of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Fact: Minister Vijitha Herath confirmed that no new currency notes had been printed.
An image of newly printed Rs 5,000 currency notes, purportedly featuring President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s face, has gone viral on social media. The post is being shared on various social media platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp and TikTok.
Newschecker decided to verify the authenticity of the viral claim, particularly since false information about the Rs 5,000 note had been spread before the presidential election.
Fact Check/Verification
We first checked the Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s Website to verify whether any new currency notes had been issued or printed for public use or for special purposes. We reviewed the “Current Note Series” and “Commemorative Coins and Notes” sections, but neither contained any images featuring President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s face.
Additionally, the Central Bank issued a press release to clarify recent reports regarding Money Printing and its Open Market Operations (OMOs), following viral news about money printing. But it had no mention of the notes featuring the new President’s face.
Further to our research, we found a statement from Minister Vijitha Herath during a cabinet press briefing, in which he confirmed that no new currency notes had been printed after the presidential election.
Finally, authorities arrested a person for circulating an image of a forged currency note featuring President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s photograph.
Conclusion
The claim that the new Rs 5,000 notes feature the face of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is false. No new currency notes have been printed since President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took office. Additionally, an individual was arrested for circulating a forged image of a currency note with president AKD’s face.
Results: False
Our sources
CBSL website – Commemorative coins and notes & Current note series
CBSL press release date October 29, 2024
News Report on News 1st, dated November 5, 2024
News video on cabinet decision on News 1st YouTube channel, dated October 29, 2024
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