Tour of the banknote factory.
Banknote factory where printed Ukrainian money, opened the door for journalists. The plant is located on the outskirts of the capital behind the wall with barbed wire and voltage.
Ukrainian mint starts from the old bench, donated by the Austrians. Engineer Alexander says that the machine is still working. Half of the building is occupied by the aquarium near the fish beneath the plastic tree is hiding the sign: “psychological relief room”. From there to get to the place where money is printed, it is necessary to pass long corridors 5 levels of control.
Money is printed in three stages. First backwards, then the text and the image. On one sheet takes a few seconds. Workers load into a machine and the paint removed from the car ready leaves with the money. But to say they is money to refuse.
“For us it is semi-finished products,” explains factory worker Vasily.
His colleague Alexander printed by the first hryvnia. Says, 20 years after the fact to falsify Ukrainian money was at times difficult. Added many new levels of protection, money has become other to the touch. When any blot printed banknotes controllers are sent to a special room where there is a machine which destroys the leaves. She grinds them like a food processor vegetables. At factory say that this fate befalls every twentieth bill. Their remains are put in special bins, the location of which is kept secret.
Leaves without marriage cut down the hall. Ready money stacked cubes – on a clear system. Their count, packaged in plastic. Artem knows exactly how much money is passed for 5 minutes through his hands – 20 million.
“Don’t look at products on the money. Because if you look at it as money, then a little bit in the head… You do if you go to the meat – you don’t see that it’s all you can eat. So here is just a product” – explain at factory.
This year the national Bank has calculated which banknotes are often kept in the hands of the Ukrainians. As of April, cash in circulation was 2.6 billion pieces of hryvnia banknotes in the total amount 285,8 billion. Coins – 12.2 billion pieces worth UAH 1.9 billion.
