Men used fake currency

Three men used fake currency to purchase goods and transfer money in the UAE, hears court.

ABU DHABI // Three men used fake currency to purchase goods and transfer money in the UAE, a court has heard.

Prosecutors told the State Security Court the men were caught after two shop owners in Sharjah complained that the money had been used to buy an iPhone and car parts.

TM, from Lebanon, said that while he was in prison in Al Ain over a financial case another inmate put him in touch with a man in Lebanon, who claimed to have large amounts of money to give away.

The man told him he had large amounts of US dollars that he was not allowed to use in Lebanon, but could be used elsewhere in the world. The man offered to swap 20,000 of his dollars in return for $6,000 new dollars.

Because TM was not allowed to travel, he asked another person TH, from Egypt, to travel to Lebanon to do the deal. When he returned they discovered it was counterfeit money.

When they complained to the man in Lebanon he offered to do another exchange, and they agreed once more. However, they were scammed for a second time, and ended up with even more counterfeit currency.

TM said that his Egyptian friend then made a deal with another person, MM, from Syria, and that they tried to spend the counterfeit money and were caught.

The case was adjourned until September 9 to hear defence arguments.