Attempts to promote counterfeit 50 dirham notes in shopping malls

Citizens and residents informed Al-Emarat Al-Youm newspaper that they discovered counterfeit 50 dirham banknotes while dealing with a number of shops in shopping malls in Dubai. They said that they were surprised to find 50 dirham banknotes among the money they were carrying and that the shops refused to deal with these banknotes, while residents in the country confirmed that cashiers in shopping malls advised them to tear up these banknotes and not to report them for fear of legal accountability.

They pointed out that their fear of falling under the law made them rush to “Emirates Today” to inform the responsible authorities in the country to investigate the matter and discover the source of this money to prevent its spread and circulation of more of it. Counterfeiting currency The Executive Director of the Banking Operations Department at the “Central Bank of the UAE”, Rashid Al Fandi, confirmed that “the number of currency counterfeiting cases is very small and are individual cases by individuals who exploited the development of technological devices such as optical scanning in attempts to counterfeit currency.”

He added: “The development of counterfeit currency detection devices, the multiplicity of security marks on the UAE currency, and the vigilance of security agencies are all factors that prevent the presence of counterfeit currencies in circulation in local markets.” He pointed out that “the Central Bank periodically reviews the security marks on local currencies of different denominations, to examine the possibility of adding more security marks to confront the development occurring in the methods of counterfeiting currencies globally.” He pointed out that “the number of security marks on local currencies currently exceeds seven marks on average, and the number increases as the denomination and value of the currency increases.”

“The number of counterfeit banknotes discovered is small, but small quantities of counterfeit banknotes are usually circulated during the Dubai Tourism and Shopping Festival,” said a cashier at a shopping mall, who asked not to be named. He attributed this to the fact that “the festival witnesses the influx of a large number of nationalities to the country, and the amount of cash in circulation during shopping is very large, which gives counterfeiters the opportunity to slip a number of their notes among the valid ones.”

He pointed out that “the increase in the number of shoppers in the malls during the festival is very large and does not give the money changer the opportunity to check the currencies he receives from customers.” In addition, banks and exchange companies operating in Dubai confirmed that the amount of counterfeit money they receive is very small and almost negligible, and they pointed out that the US dollar is one of the most counterfeited currencies and no cases of counterfeiting of the UAE dirham have been discovered before. Counterfeiting is limited Nasser Abdullah Al Awadhi, Senior Vice President and Head of Branches at Dubai Islamic Bank, said: “The number of reports the bank receives from money changers about the discovery of counterfeit currency is very small and occurs approximately once a month on average.”

“The number of counterfeit bills that are discovered is very small and does not exceed the fingers of one hand at a time, despite the increase in the number of transactions that take place daily in the bank’s branches, which exceed fifty branches,” he added, noting that “banks are equipped with the latest technology to detect counterfeit bills, as the money counting machine stops if there is a counterfeit bill among the bundle of bills, and the teller examines this bill on a different device to ensure whether it is original or counterfeit.”

Advanced Devices Faisal Aqil, General Manager of the Retail Division at Emirates Islamic Bank, said: “The bank’s branches are equipped with advanced devices capable of detecting counterfeit currency, regardless of the degree of accuracy of its counterfeiting.” He added: “Given the experience of bank tellers and the availability of these devices, counterfeiters are always afraid of trying to circulate counterfeit notes through banks, so they cash them in shops, taking advantage of the lack of experience of their employees.” He pointed out that “in the event that banks discover any counterfeit currency, they take the customer’s personal data and immediately inform the Central Bank to take the necessary measures.”

For his part, the General Manager of Al Ansari Exchange Company, Mohammed Al Ansari, stated that “the experience of the money changer and the presence of modern technology stand in the way of attempts to promote any counterfeit currencies in exchange companies.” He said: “Despite the huge amounts that are traded in exchange offices daily, the amount of counterfeit money that is discovered is very small, and it is often in specific currencies such as the Indian rupee,” adding that “when the company suspects the presence of counterfeit currencies, it immediately takes the person’s identity and informs the police to investigate and take legal action.”

On the other hand, the Central Bank officially notifies banks and exchange companies in the event that cash deposits from them containing counterfeit currencies are received, and warns them of the need to take precautions to detect attempts to promote such currencies, without compensating the bank or exchange company for the counterfeit currencies received from them.