Banknotes were ‘play money’

Two women cleared of possessing and smuggling fake $100 bills

Two women have been cleared of smuggling and possessing counterfeited currency after their lawyer convinced the court it was souvenir money.

The Dubai Court of First Instance acquitted the two Russian visitors, 31-year-old O.F. and 29-year-old O.D., of smuggling and possessing 107 $100 banknotes (Dh367) bill due to lack of evidence.

Their lawyer Ali Abdullah Al Shamsi asked the court to acquit his clients because the confiscated banknotes were play money and “not even close to being counterfeited”.

O.F. and O.D. denied smuggling and possessing any counterfeit banknotes claiming they purchased the money as souvenirs.

“My clients purchased those banknotes from a shop in Russia. We provide the court with a certificate issued from that shop confirming that those banknotes are play money and souvenirs. It is seriously astonishing how prosecutors referred O.F. and O.D. to court although it was clearly written on the confiscated banknotes ‘souvenir money’,” advocate Al Shamsi told the court.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the women smuggled into the country and possessed the 107 counterfeited banknotes for promotional purposes. Prosecutors said the defendant were aware the banknotes were counterfeit.

“The court has acquitted the suspects and the money will be confiscated,” said the chief judge.