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Money magic fails; visitor on trial

DUBAI - A Nigerian visitor, 43, was charged with possession of fake currency for circulation and fraud at the Court of First Instance on Thursday.

According to prosecution records, the visitor defrauded an Iranian businessman of $16,000 after fooling him into believing that he had $5million and needed a chemical substance to remove the black colour on it so that it would become authentic.

The Iranian, 48, told the prosecutor that the defendant approached him as he was sitting in a coffee shop in a mall about five days before he filed a police 
complaint.

The defendant showed him a passport copy claiming he was British. He talked to him in a friendly manner telling him that he had $5 million and that he needed help to buy a chemical substance to make the money look authentic.

He asked the complainant for $25,000 and promised to give him $1 million for it. The complainant could gather $16,000 and he received the defendant at his hotel room.

The latter brought with him a suitcase in which there were paper cuttings that looked like fake dollars. There was also a paper with guidelines on how to transform the paper clippings into dollars with the help of a chemical substance.

An Emirati police lieutenant quoted the complainant as saying that he gave $16,000 to the defendant without any receipt.

Another man, a runaway who is also wanted in the case, came to the hotel room when called by the defendant. He made a presentation in which he showed how the papers could be transformed into authentic- looking dollars. The accused then asked for another $37,000 to buy the chemical. That was when the complainant realised that he was a victim of a fraud.

He then informed the police and coordinated with them to arrest the defendant. He invited the defendant to his room claiming he had arranged for $20,000 and got the defendant arrested on February 16. An amount of $700 was seized from the suspect.

The defendant admitted during the Public Prosecution investigation that he had swindled the complainant.

He also admitted that the money which the police later found with him belonged to the complainant and was not fake.

mary@khaleejtimes.com