The police arrested five members of an illegal group suspected of putting counterfeit lei in very large amounts into circulation. These forged 100 lei bills by artisanal methods in an apartment in Botanica district of Chisinau, IPN reports.

Deputy prosecutor of Chisinau municipality Valeriu Bodean told a news conference that the members of the group were charged with counterfeiting and putting of forged money into circulation. The suspects, aged between 25 and 50, are under arrest. Two of them have a criminal record.

Valeriu Bodean said the suspects do not have a job. The counterfeiting of money was their only source of livelihood. As a result of the searches performed in the apartment, the police found forged banknotes and equipment used to counterfeit money.

Prosecutor Nicolae Zanevich said the money was forged by artisanal methods. The men removed the layer of paint from 10 lei bills and then imprinted the figure 100 on them. It was hard to detect the forgery when simply touching the bill because the paper was original.

The sum of forged money that was put into circulation is yet to be determined. The suspects face 7 to 15 years in jail.