The Central Bank of Russia has temporarily suspended the online voting for the design competition of the new 500 ruble banknote. This was reported by Zamin.uz.
According to the bank's official statement, artificial activity and fake votes were detected during the voting process. This situation cast doubt on the authenticity of the results.
Two main options participated in the competition. One was Elbrus, the highest peak of the Caucasus, and the other was the modern Grozny-City complex in the capital of Chechnya.
It was emphasized that due to violations of certain technical and information security rules during the voting process, the competition results may not fully reflect the actual situation. Interestingly, one day before the competition, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced an additional incentive contest on his Telegram channel for users who voted for Grozny.
He promised to gift iPhone smartphones to 10 winners. This situation raised doubts about the transparency and fairness of the competition.
For this reason, the Central Bank of Russia decided to suspend the voting and conduct a deeper investigation. The bank asked all participants for patience and understanding and stated that additional information about the competition results would be announced in the coming days.
This incident once again highlighted the importance of transparency and reliability in competitions held by government agencies.
