An accused was acquitted of possession and circulation of counterfeit money

The State Security Court acquitted a person accused by the Public Prosecution of possessing and peddling counterfeit currency, which he used to purchase medicines and recharge cards from several commercial stores. The court based its ruling on the fact that it had not been proven with certainty and certainty that the accused knew about the counterfeiting of the currencies at the time of their introduction into the country and their promotion.

A pharmacist had informed the police about an accused who came to him and handed him 500 dirhams as the price for a medicine he had bought for 30 dirhams and returned the rest to him. Then he later suspected, with the help of his friend, the owner of the nearby grocery store, that it was counterfeit, so he followed the accused and told him that the currency he had given him was counterfeit, and then the buyer returned it. 470 dirhams, then he informed the police, so a patrol moved to the accused’s place and arrested him. Two workers at the police station happened to be present. In two other grocery stores, the defendant had purchased recharge cards from them and handed them 500 dirham notes. When they discovered that it was counterfeit, they followed him, returned the paper to him, and took the rest of the money from him. A search of the accused’s house resulted in the seizure of 14,500 counterfeit dirhams, which he was putting in a bag.

When he was questioned during the investigations, the accused admitted that he possessed the seized paper currencies, stating that he had bought an amount of 25 thousand counterfeit dirhams in the 500 dirham denomination, in exchange for 57 thousand authentic Syrian pounds, from a Lebanese person, near the UAE embassy in Syria, as this person told him that this could not be traded. The amount is with the banks. He added that he brought it into the country and approximately 11,000 dirhams of these counterfeit currencies were circulated in multiple stores in the emirates of Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah. The forensic laboratory report stated that the banknotes, which numbered (30), were counterfeit by scanning valid papers, and that they were printed using a printer. Colorful ink, adding that the counterfeiting is subtle, and the average person may be fooled by it. The Public Prosecution charged the accused with the crime of introducing, promoting, and possessing fabricated paper currencies using a color scanning method, as an imitation of authentic paper currencies. The State Security Court ruled in its session, headed by Judge Shehab Abdel Rahman Al Hammadi and the membership of Judges Mohammed Ahmed Abdel Qader and Mustafa Al Mufaddal Ben Salmoun, that the accused was acquitted of what was attributed to him, explaining that for the crime of possession of counterfeit currency to occur, and related to its entry into the state and its promotion, it is required that the accused be aware that it is Fake, considering that this knowledge is the basic pillar upon which the crime is based, and must be proven with certainty and certainty, not suspicion and assumption, while It is clear from the papers that, even though the accused admitted to possessing and bringing into the state the seized counterfeit banknotes, and putting them into circulation in several commercial stores, he has not proven with certainty and certainty that he knew about the counterfeiting of those currencies at the time of their entry into the state and their promotion, especially since As soon as the shop owners were informed that the 500 dirham note he handed over to them was counterfeit, he voluntarily returned the rest to them without following this course of action. Any appearance or confusion indicates a connection between his knowledge of the counterfeiting, such as his attempt to escape. Rather, he surrendered to the matter and remained standing until the police arrived. He confessed to his possession of those currencies without this confession being accompanied by his knowledge that the currencies were counterfeit. In addition, he led the police to other counterfeit currencies that he kept in his possession. His house. From all of this, the court concludes that the accused lacked knowledge of counterfeiting the seized banknotes, and nothing was mentioned in the papers to the contrary, which must be judged. He was acquitted, with an order to confiscate the seized counterfeit banknotes.