Shocking discovery on $50 note
A Jewish man has been disturbed by anti-Semitic insults written on banknotes dispensed from a Sydney cash machine.
The $50 notes, which were defaced with a black permanent marker, were collected by three different customers – six notes in total – from the North Bondi Suncorp ATM at the Ampol Foodary in the run-up to Christmas.
The notes were graffitied with the words “F*** Jews” and a swastika on the forehead of indigenous leader David Unaipon, whose image appears on the note.
Photos of the vandalized banknotes were shared online and despite accusations that the banknotes were ‘fake’ and ‘staged’, their authenticity was later verified.
NSW Police were called to the Ampol Foodary on December 12 after the first batch of destroyed notes were distributed and reported to employees.
The next day, a Jewish man with the first name Ari received a marked note and informed the clerk. He said the worker assumed he was complaining about the condition of the banknote and not its anti-Semitic content.
Ari was later visited by the police, who suggested they take the notes to Suncorp Bank, who might be able to ‘trace the notes and find out a bit more about them’.
“They recognized it was completely unacceptable, but there wasn’t much more they could do,” he told 7News.
Three different customers were given destroyed $50 notes in Sydney with anti-Jewish graffiti (pictured), including a swastika and the words ‘f*** Jews’
Suncorp said the ATM was not maintained by them, but by Armaguard, who said it was highly unlikely they had sent the money that way.
Police confirmed they are investigating three incidents where ‘offensive handwritten words and images’ were found on banknotes on December 12, 13 and 14.
Alex Ryvchin, the co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, denounced the vandalism.
“The hateful people in our society are finding new ways to express their prejudices and their disgust,” he said.
While the Reserve Bank can withdraw damaged notes from circulation and replace them with new money, the money must be returned to a bank branch by those who find it.
In Australia, damaging official currency is a criminal offence.
Suncorp Bank said the specific ATM where the notes were found is operated by Armaguard.
‘Our cash handling machines are well maintained, regularly calibrated and tested. Our high-speed fitness sorting machines are the same as those used by central banks worldwide to process and sort returned banknotes,” Caulfield said.
‘Therefore, the risk of a damaged banknote not being identified by our machines and ending up back in the community is extremely low.
“The vast majority of damaged banknotes in circulation exist because they are recycled within the community and do not go to a cash center for processing and sorting for fitness.”