Dubai: The Dubai Court of Appeal has overturned the verdict of the First Court of Instance against a businessman after a video went viral showing him throwing fakes notes to the tune of 50,000 Euro notes at a group of workers while driving a luxury car in Dubai.
The 32-year-old businessman claimed that he posted the video on his Instagram page to gain more followers. Dubai Police searched the businessman’s house and found $740,000 (Dh2.7 million) and 467,000 Euros (Dh2 million) in fake banknotes.
The Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced the defendant to two years in jail but the Appeal Court changed it to one year.
According to records, the defendant ordered the fake dollars from a Chinese website. The fake Euros were made for the defendant from a copy print shop in Dubai.
A 26-year-old policeman at the Cyber Crime Department in Dubai Police said the police spotted the video of the defendant throwing the fake banknotes from his moving car at Al Quoz. “He violated social distancing rules by creating a gathering of Asian workers who chased him to collect the money. He claimed later that the 50,000 Euros were fake and he did it to have more followers on his Instagram account,” said the Emirati policeman in official records.
Police said the defendant endangered the workers’ lives as they ran after his moving car and could have been hit by other cars. The defendant was eventually arrested at the parking lot of a shopping centre by Dubai Police.
His Instagram account, which has nearly 400,000 followers, showed him living a tycoon’s life with expensive cars like a Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Many pictures and videos in the account show the defendant holding a wad of dollars and Euros. “We searched his house and found thousands of fake dollars and euros. He ordered the dollars from China and the Euros were bought for Dh1,000 from an Indian man,” added the Emirati policeman.
Dubai Police set up a trap to arrest the 36-year-old Indian salesman who works in a copy shop as he was delivering 1.5 million Euros to the businessman.
According to Dubai Public Prosecution, the defendant sent a picture of a 500 Euro banknote to the Indian defendant to print copies of it.
The prosecution charged the first defendant with smuggling, possessing and dealing with fake currency. The second defendant was charged with forging nearly 2 million fake Euros.
Both defendants were sentenced to one year in jail to be followed by deportation and a Dh200,000 fine.
