Stern warning as police arrest money forger

{Police is holding a suspect who has been arrested in Ngoma District trying to circulate fake money. }

The suspect identified as Jean Claude Nzisengera was arrested on May 1, in Kibungo Sector in possession of 42 fake notes including 23 in Rwf5, 000 denomination and 19 of Rwf2, 000.

According to the Eastern Region Police spokesperson, Inspector of Police (IP) Emmanuel Kayigi, the suspect was arrested after he was reported by a mobile money agent, where he attempting to deposit the fake money on his mobile account.

“The Agent detected that the money was fake and immediately notified the police, officers arrived shortly and arrested Nzisengera before left the scene . He is currently held at Kibungo Police Station as investigations continue,” said IP Kayigi.

He thanked the agent for the vigilance and notifying the police in the quickest time possible.

The spokesperson called upon the business community to be vigilant not to fall prey of such scams, which has an impact on the economy.

Though crimes related to currency counterfeit are rare, he warned of serious repercussion to anyone caught in this act.

“Rwandans shouldn’t be victims of such fraudsters and should always provide police with information on such individuals…Counterfeits devalues the francs which directly affects the economy. In most cases, victims also lose their money through such scams and this also affects their business,” he added.

He further advised the business community including shop attendants and mobile Money agents, the most targeted, to always be vigilant and verify the bills at all times to prevent falling prey.

The arrest of Nzisengera came after that of Damien Uwitonze on April 28 in Coko Sector of Gakenke District, after he was found in possession of fake currency notes amounting to Rwf203, 000.

Under article 601 of the penal code any person who fraudulently counterfeits, falsifies or alters coins, which are legal tender in Rwanda or abroad, bills issued by the State and bearing its stamp or emblem, banknotes, authorized notes or any other related effects used in Rwanda or abroad, or any person who introduces or issues on the Rwandan territory bills or notes which are legal tender with knowledge that they are counterfeit or altered, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of between five and seven years.

Comments

One response to “Stern warning as police arrest money forger”

  1. Edgar davids Avatar
    Edgar davids

    The presence and use of counterfeit money in the market(s) can affect the national and global economy in a considerable manner. For one, it deceives people and they tend to lose confidence in their money and their nation’s economy – the worst thing that can happen to any country. Circulation of counterfeit currency can have the following adverse effects on the economy:

    Devaluation of Currency and Inflation

    As counterfeit money makes its way into the markets, suddenly there is more money in circulation than there should be. Owing to this, the purchasing power of people increases and there is a rise in the demand for goods and services. Then, since supply cannot meet the demand, shortage of goods occurs, which in turn, leads to the rise in prices, i.e., inflation. Now, people have to pay more money for purchasing the same amount of goods. This is called ‘currency devaluation’.

    Black Marketing

    The shortage of supply that is created in the market due to extensive circulation of forged currency, gives rise to another grave problem, that of black marketing. Goods and services, which should be made available to people at established and reasonable rates, are sold, illegally, at elevated prices. Owing to this, only the select few can afford to buy commodities, which means that the poorer strata is left to starve. It is called ‘black market’ because all the transactions are essentially made in cash and are always off the record. Sometimes, commodity shortages are purposefully created so that more amount of cash can be exchanged and still go unaccounted. All this, in turn gives rise to the vicious circle of corruption.

    Dumping of Goods at Cheaper Rates
    Inflation, debasement of currency, and black marketing prevalent in a particular country can all collectively benefit some other country, which may then dump inferior quality goods in the market, obviously at cheaper rates. Because these goods are much cheaper than those which are produced within the country, they naturally capture a sizable market as more and more people opt for them owing to their affordability. This, further weakens the country’s economy.

    Non-reimbursement by Banks
    This is one of the elementary issues that is associated with the circulation of counterfeit currency in the economy. Especially, big businesses and industries of a nation are likely to incur huge amounts of losses. When the banks are informed about fake currency being involved in some significant business transactions, it is confiscated with immediate effect, but most of the time, the businesses do not get reimbursement for their money. This leads to heavy losses that may affect them, either immediately or in the long run.

    Loss of Public Confidence
    This is the greatest consequence of circulation of counterfeit money. People tend to lose faith in the economy of their country and the money that they hold. So, in order to avoid any kind of encounter with counterfeit money, they may start making demands of their payments to be made in some other, more stable currency. This may further destabilize the country’s overall economy.

    Counterfeit money also impacts the global economy to a large extent. There are instances wherein nations try to destabilize the economies of their political and economic rivals by counterfeiting their currency in enormous amounts, and transporting it into their market. This not only weakens them economically, but also socially and politically.

    Today, there are several counterfeiters of currency, functioning from every nook and corner of the world, waiting to circulate their false notes in the world. Governments and security agencies have been taking measures to put a heed to this illegal, criminal racket, and to catch and punish the wrongdoers. However, none of them seem to be adequate as the number of counterfeiters goes on rising with each passing day. Worst affected by the circulation of counterfeit money are the common people, who can neither recognize these false notes, nor afford losing their hard-earned ‘money’ to ion

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