DUBAI // An unemployed man and his friend will spend two years in jail each after being found guilty of possessing almost half a million dollars in counterfeit bank notes.
The Cameroonians, aged 33 and 39, denied charges of possessing US$427,000 (Dh1.56 million) in fake notes and with attempted fraud when they appeared at Dubai Criminal Court in May after being arrested on March 23.
The notes were covered in black paint so the duo tried to get a man to pay them money so they could remove the paint using a liquid and then the money would be his.
They claimed that they had US$2.5 million in the paint-stained notes in Cameroon and they needed the money from him to ship the damaged dollars to the UAE and buy the liquid that could remove the paint without damaging the notes.
The man reported them to police and they were arrested with the fake notes in their possession.
They were fined Dh10,000 each and will be deported after completing their jail terms.
salamir@thenational.ae
