The post contains three images: one of Putin holding what appears to be a banknote and two more showing the front and back of a banknote with a denomination of “100” units and flags of different countries.
The claim was also shared here on Instagram. Similar versions of the claim without an image were found on X (here, here and here).
The bloc held its 16th summit in Kazan, Russia, from October 22 to 24, 2024, with representatives from 36 countries and six international organizations. BRICS now has a total of 10 member states following the accession of Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in January (archived here).
A few hours before the summit concluded, the BRICS released a 33-page document titled “Kazan Declaration.” The document outlines the bloc’s vision on global governance, economic development and international cooperation (archived here).
However, the claim that Putin presented a “banknote of a single BRICS currency” at the meeting is misleading.
No currency launch
AFP Fact Check has read through the 134 line items of the Kazan statement. No decision was taken on a common currency, apart from calling for an alternative payment system aimed at allowing Member States to carry out cross-border transactions in local currencies.
“We encourage the strengthening of correspondent banking networks within the BRICS and enable local currency settlements in accordance with the BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative (BCBPI), which is voluntary and non-binding, and look forward to further discussions in this area, also in the BRICS countries. Payment Task Force,” the statement reads in part.
AFP Fact Check also conducted a reverse image search on the image of Putin holding the alleged banknote.
The results led to an album page with the official photos from the summit’s dedicated website (archived here). Below that is the same photo – and additional images from different angles – of Putin holding the claimed banknote.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin after the meeting of the heads of BRICS delegations in extended format as part of the XVI BRICS Summit in Kazan,” the caption reads. However, there is no mention of what Putin had in his hands.
AFP covered the BRICS summit and captured the moment Putin was presented with the ‘banknote’ by an attendee on the second day. Putin then gave it a light-hearted gesture to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Alexander NEMENOVSWIMMING POOL
Local media reported that while answering questions about the “banknote” from journalists at the summit, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said the president had received the symbolic coin from “one of our people – either from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry or from someone else – they printed this quasi-money” (archived here).
The ‘banknote’ was described by Russian state news agencies (here and here) as ‘fake’ or ‘symbolic’ (archived here and here).
Russia was removed from global financial messaging system Swift following a series of sanctions imposed in response to its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 (archived here).
At the summit, Putin accused the US of using the dollar “as a weapon” but did not announce a global alternative to the dollar, said Agathe Demarais, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations (archived here).
“No coin was unveiled at the BRICS summit. What Russia is aiming for is a financial system that connects the central banks of the BRICS countries so they can exchange digital currencies,” Demarais told AFP Fact Check in an email.
Recurring claim
Claims about the unveiling of a new BRICS currency are not new.
During the 2023 BRICS Summit in South Africa, photos of the alleged currency in both banknote and crypto form were widely shared online (such as here, here and here) and described as official legal tender for the bloc’s member states.
This was incorrect and several fact-checking organizations debunked the reports (such as here, here and here).
However, images of the alleged banknote in circulation in 2023 bear a resemblance to the one Putin was photographed with in Kazan – although the 2023 one was a 100 note, while the 2024 one was a 50 note.
Days after the 2023 summit, Russian Ambassador to South Africa Ilya Rogachev presented the head of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) diplomatic mission, Mahash Saeed Alhameli, “a symbolic banknote” of a common BRICS currency with a face value of 100 units. (archived here).
The souvenir was presented at a reception at the UAE Embassy in Pretoria – the administrative capital of South Africa – to recognize the country’s status as one of the new member states of the BRICS.
Rogachev reportedly said the note was made in Russia.
