Police in Kursk, central Russia, detained a man who purchased expensive goods paying with old Brazilian currency, cruzados, the local police department said on Wednesday.
The swindler, who arrived in Kursk from the neighboring city of Voronezh, called on newspaper ads offering household appliances and fur coats and paid the sellers with cruzados, which were in circulation in Brazil from 1986 to 1989, passing them as euros.
"Ten Kursk residents notified the police. The total damage is worth 200,000 rubles (some $7,300). But police believe more people could have suffered from the swindler's actions," the department said adding that he could face up to five years in prison if convicted.
