A cleaner lost his retrial on Sunday and will have to spend three years in jail for possessing 200,000 euros in counterfeit banknotes for trading purposes.
The Dubai Court of First Instance found the 35-year-old Bangladeshi cleaner identified as Muhammed Khan(real name withheld), guilty of possessing counterfeit currency and using 12 200-euro counterfeit banknotes that he submitted to a local bank to convert to dirhams.
“The accused has been fined Dh50,000 and will be deported following the completion of his punishment,” said presiding judge Mohammad Jamal upon pronouncing Sunday’s judgement in courtroom three.
The accused was handed the same punishment in absentia last year. Law enforcement officers detained the defendant and forwarded him to justice.
According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the Bangladeshi possessed the counterfeit banknotes [euros] and used them. During the retrial, the defendant pleaded not guilty contending that he did not know that the banknotes were fake.
A Filipina bank teller testified that she was on duty when the cleaner visited her counter wanting to convert euros to dirhams.
“The defendant arrived at my counter at Dubai International Airport. He seemed confident, was not confused, and didn’t seem scared. He handed me 2,200 euros and asked to convert them to dirhams. When I saw the banknotes, I realised that they were obviously counterfeit. I told my colleague, who immediately confirmed that they were counterfeit. Our supervisor reported the matter to the police who came and arrested the accused,” the Filipina claimed.
Sunday’s judgement remains subject to appeal within 15 days.
