Forged ID cards yield $12,000 for crooks

Two Nigerians allegedly forged ID cards and took for themselves $12,000 transferred via a money exchange company by a Russian purchaser to a company in Dubai, the Dubai Criminal Court heard.

SM, 35, jobless, is accused of forging a card of the Abu Dhabi Airport Free Zone in the name of IKH, the money transfer receiver, and put his own picture on it. He used the document by submitting it to three money exchange companies, collected $12,000 and got receipts.

CS, Nigerian, 32, visitor, forged a card of the Abu Dhabi Airport Free Zone and another card of Dubai Tech Free Zone. He is also accused of helping the first accused in committing the crime and over staying his visa.

The victim, IKM, general manager of a car spare parts company for the past 10 years, testified that a Russian customer had purchased spare parts via Internet and transferred a total of $12,000 via a money exchange company.

“I went to the exchange company to collect the money but was told that the transfer had already been collected. Checking the documents against which the money was collected, I found out that someone had used a card in his name taking the money. I don’t know how this person got the secret numbers of the transfer operation.

“I checked with the Russian customer who denied giving details of the transfer to anyone. I suspected that someone had hacked the company’s electronic system as the Russian customer had sent me by email the money transfer’s details,” he testified.

Police investigated the complaint and in coordination with the money remittance company and the companies from where the money were collected and reached two Africans staying in Sharjah.

Police confiscated in their flat a number of forged cards of different authorities that carried their pictures but names of other people. Police arrested the second accused who was staying in the flat rented by the first one.

The first accused was being detained by Sharjah police for impersonating another person. They claimed that a compatriot had supplied them with the forged documents but denied knowing his details, according to the records.

The court will reconvene on November 21.


 

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