JEDDAH, 13 May 2005 — To avoid interrogations that often go on for months, most people refuse to report counterfeit money to authorities.
They would rather be spared the headache even if it means giving up hopes in getting their money back.
Asharf Bakur, an employee at the National Commercial Bank, told Arab News about the difficulties people face when reporting they have received counterfeit money.
He explained when a person brings counterfeit money to the bank, “The money must go through an authenticity detection machine to count and prove its authenticity.
“Then the bank calls the specialized financial establishment and they deal with the case from there.”
Tamir Ahmadi, owner of an Internet coffee shop who lost SR500 and could not do anything about it, told his story to Arab News.
“A customer came to my Internet coffee shop in Makkah and paid a bill of SR500 with counterfeit notes. My cashier accepted the money without verifying its authenticity. At the end of the month when I came to count the cash, I was shocked.”
Ahmadi said he could not inform the authorities about it fearing he would be questioned as the counterfeiter. “If I called to report it, they would interrogate me thinking I was the one who faked the money and tried to use it,” Ahmadi said. He continued “I just ripped it apart and threw it out.”
One man, who declined to be identified, explained the problems he encountered after informing the authorities about the counterfeit money he received.
“I felt humiliated and insulted after I went to inform the bank about the counterfeit money I received. It took in total three months to trace the criminal.” He told Arab News he wished that he had just thrown it away and continued his life peacefully instead of enduring the trouble he went through.
Abu Ammar, a middle aged employed man, went through an embarrassing situation when he handed the waiter in a restaurant a SR100 bill. “After I gave the waiter the SR100 bill he kept looking at it.
I felt it was insulting to be standing there in the line, and all the people staring at me as if I was a con artist.
He said the waiter had apologized later and showed him a SR100 counterfeit bill he was given which looked exactly the same.
The waiter later informed him that manager of the restaurant gave clear orders for his employees to double check any money before they accepted it, because they had been receiving slew of fake notes that were virtually indistinguishable from genuine ones.
Bakur concluded “Some of those who fall foul of the fakes are managers or people with important positions in the city.” Yet, he said there are those who prefer silence and don’t mention it at all.
