Bolivia Discontinues Banknotes in Wake of Plane Crash

The Central Bank of Bolivia (CBB) has announced that, as a result of the plane crash that occurred on 27 February in the district of El Alto (part of the capital, La Paz), banknotes in the denominations of Bs10, Bs20 and Bs50 of Series B, corresponding to the New Boliviano Banknote Series, are no longer legal tender.

The Bolivian air force cargo plane, transporting roughly 17 million new banknotes to the CBB, was attempting to land when it careened off the runway and hit several vehicles on the ground. 24 people are reported to have been killed. The reasons for the crash are still under investigation.

In addition to dealing with the crash, local police had to resort to special forces and chemical weapons to disperse the large number of people that flocked to the crash site to attempt to take the banknotes scattered in the area.

The CBB originally stated that the notes have no legal value because they have not yet been officially registered and put into circulation, and the specific serial numbers have been invalidated. It also stated that possession or attempting to use the notes is illegal.