No, BRICS nations have not launched an official joint currency

by Ankita Mahalanobish

An image of what appears to be a currency note with flags of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa printed on it is doing the rounds of social media with users claiming BRICS has officially announced a joint currency. 

BRICS, initially an informal grouping of five countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — has developed into an intergovernmental organization. The term BRICS originally denoted a collection of countries experiencing rapid economic growth that would emerge as the dominant economic players of the 21st century. The acronym—derived from the names of the members—has since been adopted as the name of a formal intergovernmental organization that aims to create greater economic and geopolitical integration and coordination among member states.

An X (formerly Twitter) handle named Russian Market (@runews) tweeted the picture with a caption, “The BRICS currency. Wow..” (archive)

The tweet has garnered over 9.38 Lakh views.

Another X handle, Asia Currency (@CurrencyAsia) tweeted, “Breaking News: The first printed currency of BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—is here! Valued at 100 BRICS, this new currency could shake up global dynamics. Is this the beginning of a new financial era? Could this be the challenge that finally topples the dollar? ” in a tweet along with the photo. (archive)

Several users have shared similar claims.

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Indonesian media house Delinews24 wrote an article with the headline, “BRICS : New Currency Has Been Officially Launched At BRICS Summit in Russia.”

Fact Check

A relevant keyword search led to several new reports that carried the same photo. An article by the Financial Express with the heading “Putin’s BRICS Mock-Up Bill Sparks Debate, But No New Currency Yet” clarifies that the photo is “not (of) an official note, but simply a mock-up presented to the Russian leader by an enthusiast”. 

We found a Russian news article by Lenta.ru published on October 23, 2024. It stated, “Russian President Vladimir Putin was presented with a “symbolic banknote” of the interstate association at the BRICS summit in Kazan” (translated to English from Russian via Google Translate). According to the press secretary of the Russian president, the article mentioned that the “BRICS banknote” was printed by one of the Russian participants in the meeting.

Another Russian news report by vladday.ru, stated, “President Putin praised the money printed in Kirzhach in honor of the BRICS summit. The idea to create such banknotes belongs to the philanthropist and Kirzhach entrepreneur Evgeny Fedorov. Putin left the hall after the end of the BRICS meeting in an expanded format with a banknote in his hands. He showed it to the ministers and laughingly handed the banknote to the head of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina.”

This report, to, carried the same photo in a prominent way.

We also found a tweet from the official X account of BRICS information source (@BRICSinfo). It stated, “JUST IN: Russian President Putin has been gifted a mock-up of a “BRICS bill” at BRICS summit in Kazan.”

The Press Information Bureau’s fact-checking unit tweeted from its official X handle (@PIBFactCheck) clarifying that the claims of BRICS currency were ‘fake’.

It is relevant to add that at the 16th BRICS summit hosted by Vladimir Putin in Kazan in October 2024, a concept of common currency was discussed. It was mooted as an alternative currency intended for trade among BRICS nations. Though its an ambitious proposal, it highlighted “the growing effort within BRICS to establish a more independent economic system, one less reliant on Western financial structures,” reported Financial Express.

To sum up, the claim circulating on social media about the official launch of a common BRICS banknote is false. The image being shared online is merely a mock-up of such a currency presented to Russian President Putin, and not an official note.

Ankita Mahalanobish is an intern at Alt News.

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