Dubai: A man has been accused of possessing $78,400 [around Dh289,000] in counterfeit banknotes for business purposes that were seized from his car and residence.
The 53-year-old Sudanese man, E.I., was said to have been stopped at the Hatta border checkpoint where he was caught in possession of 249 banknotes of $100 bills that turned out to be fake in August.
Police found more money hidden in a white bag in the trunk and the remaining hidden in the man’s residence in Hamdan area in Dubai.
Prosecutors accused E.I. of possessing counterfeit currency for business purposes.
The suspect pleaded not guilty and strongly refuted his accusations when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Monday.
According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said E.I. possessed 784 $100 bills for business purposes.
“I possessed the banknotes but I did not know that they were counterfeit. I borrowed them from a friend of mine but I was not aware that they were fake,” E.I. argued before presiding judge Ali Abdul Wahhab.
“Where did you get the money from and who handed it to you?” the presiding judge asked the suspect.
“A friend whom I have known for 25 years came on a visit from Saudi Arabia. I asked him to lend me money because I needed the cash to buy something from Sudan for my business. He stayed here for one day and left … I did not know that the banknotes were counterfeit. I have been living here for 23 years and have never committed a crime,” contended the suspect.
A Customs inspector testified to prosecutors that he was commissioned by his supervisor to search the defendant’s car.
“I searched the suspect but did not find anything with him. I also searched the front of his car that was also empty. Meanwhile when I searched the back I found a white bag that contained $100 banknotes … the suspect admitted that the money belonged to him. He said the total was around $35,000. The suspect was referred to the police for further interrogations. A money exchange house at the check point confirmed that the seized money is counterfeit,” the inspector claimed to prosecutors.
Records said more money was seized at E.I.’s residence.
The trial continues.
