Kazakhs Introduce New, Flawed Banknotes

(RFE/RL) November 15, 2006 -- Kazakhstan's central bank has begun circulating newly designed banknotes today despite some calls for a delay to correct a spelling mistake.

Some of the new tenge notes misspell the word "bank."

The new notes are said to offer better protection against counterfeiting, but some 2,000- and 5,000-tenge bills contain the error.

Some parliamentarians had demanded that the banknotes not be put into circulation.

A small group of demonstrators rallied near the central bank in late October urging that the mistake be corrected before the new banknotes were issued.

Authorities insisted on going ahead with issuing the bills, according to the central bank's website, but have pledged to replace the faulty banknotes within 18 months.

(Interfax-Kazakhstan)