Some dogs tear up everything they come across in their path. Sally, an 8-month-old golden retriever, is no different. Unfortunately for owner Grégory, the loot from his puppy amounted to an envelope with 1,500 euros that the resident of Liège had left on the counter. reports RTL Info† Fortunately, the National Bank of Belgium has a procedure for such accidents.
Grégory had put the money aside for a car down payment. While he was working in his garage for a few hours, Sally was sinking her teeth into the money. “When I came back in, I discovered the shredded envelope and the bills on the floor.” Was he angry with his four-legged friend? “Not at all”, says RTL Info. “I mostly blamed myself because I should have been more careful.”
“Real puzzle”
Initially, De Waal tried to glue the pieces together himself. Literally then, with a roll of adhesive tape, but that turned out to be impossible. “It was a real puzzle. I was happy with it all evening. Some notes I was more or less able to salvage, but others got even more damaged. I assumed I wouldn’t be able to use the money anymore.”
Grégory turned to his bank for advice. He forwarded the man to the National Bank. Small inconvenience: the central bank of Belgium has only one counter and that is in Brussels. “I live in Liège”, continues de Waal. “My bank could take on the procedure, but then it would take several weeks.”
money laundering
And so the man decided to take a day off and travel to the capital himself. Fortunately, all the conditions for exchanging the money were met at the National Bank. “First of all, the damage to the notes must be involuntary,” explains spokesman Geert Sciot. “Secondly, more than half of the note must still exist. This condition is very important because otherwise the note can be exchanged twice.”
Because Grégory had tried to recover the notes himself, a thorough check of the money was also necessary. “It took ten working days,” explains Sally’s owner. Sciot says about this procedure: “Currency exchange is a money laundering technique. That is why we have to be extra careful and respect the law.”
Did you know
Ten days after his first trip, Grégory was allowed to collect his money in Brussels. All’s well that ends well, because de Waal was able to recover the amount down to the cent. Although he said it was annoying that a deposit was not possible, and as a result he had to go to and from Brussels twice.
The National Bank also states that it is working on the quality of banknotes in order to prevent these kinds of setbacks in the future. “We are trying to make our notes stronger and more sustainable. People often think that banknotes are made of paper, but in reality they are made of cotton,” the bank concludes with a tidbit.
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