JEDDAH, 13 December 2003 — Six Jordanians accused of circulating forged Saudi banknotes worth SR500,000 in Arab countries face trial in a military court in Amman, Al-Watan reported yesterday. A Jordanian Interior Ministry official said his ministry gave details to Saudi authorities through the Foreign Ministry to discover if any Saudis were involved. Interrogation of the accused did not reveal the main source of the notes. The paper said a Saudi sent the forged riyal notes to Jordan on a container truck. The sheer amount of counterfeit notes confiscated from the Jordanians suggested the gang had its own printing press. Meanwhile, security authorities in Egypt have cautioned banks in the country against the possibility forged Saudi currencies leaking to the country via Jordan. Egypt is the second largest market for Saudi riyals after the Kingdom. Between SR5 billion and SR8 billion are exchanged in the country annually, the paper said.
