New bills for travel

Thought I would add a postscript to the letter “Money Laundering 101.”

Prior to several trips to Russia, I have simply gone by my bank and asked them for relatively new money with the “security strip” embedded in each bill. In Russia they would not take the “unstripped” money. (Actually, there is now very little of the old money around, and the strip is not in the one-dollar bills.)

In any event, my bank was always very helpful. In fact, they were the ones who first told me I needed newer money with the strip when I went in in 1995 before my first trip and needed cash to go to Russia. It sure beats “laundering” each bill!

DAVID WILLIAMS
Dallas, TX