Dubai Police have cracked down on several counterfeit currency operations in recent months, leading to the arrest of multiple suspects attempting to circulate fake money within the country.
In one case, an Asian national was arrested after paying a car seller with counterfeit money, which the seller discovered soon after the transaction.
A separate incident saw a gang of three suspects taken into custody for smuggling fake currency into the UAE. The group had attempted to exchange the counterfeit cash for foreign currencies through local exchange companies.
Another suspect, a 56-year-old Asian visitor, was intercepted at an airport with counterfeit foreign banknotes valued at Dhs185,000.
In a major operation, the Federal Investigation Department at the Ministry of Interior arrested an Arab gang possessing counterfeit foreign currency worth $7.5 million, which they intended to circulate in the UAE.
Colonel Dr Ali Khalifa Al Falasi, Head of Document Examination at the General Department of Forensic Science and Criminology, credited the success of these operations to the use of advanced technology, including visible and non-visible spectrum devices and digital microscopes. He emphasized the importance of public vigilance and encouraged reporting suspicious activities.
Legal experts warned of severe consequences for those involved in counterfeiting. Lawyer Badr Abdullah Khamis highlighted that under Article 204 of the Federal Penal Code, individuals who counterfeit, forge, or circulate fake currency face life imprisonment or temporary imprisonment, alongside a fine of at least Dhs200,000.
He added, “If counterfeiting leads to a drop in a currency’s value or undermines market confidence, the penalty escalates to life imprisonment.”