Bahraini Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Using Counterfeit Money

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

The High Criminal Court sentenced a young Bahraini man to five years in prison for promoting and using counterfeit currency at a hotel and a supermarket. Employees at both locations noticed the fake bills and filed reports with the police, leading to the suspect’s tracking and arrest. During the last session, the defendant claimed he did not know the money was counterfeit and said that another person gave him the bills to settle a debt.

The incident began when the suspect rented a hotel room, paid with a 20 Bahraini dinar bill, and received 10 dinars in change. The receptionist became suspicious of the bills, informed the hotel owner, and confirmed the currency was counterfeit, prompting a police report. Hours later, a supermarket employee filed a similar complaint after the suspect used another 20-dinar fake note to buy goods. Police set a trap, monitored his movements, and arrested him.

In investigations, the suspect admitted that he obtained the counterfeit bills from another individual and used them to pay for hotel rooms and purchases, although authorities could not reach the other person involved. He also acknowledged knowing the money was fake and that he used it to pay less than 20 dinars for rooms and goods to keep the remainder as legitimate change. Additional counterfeit bills were later found hidden in his cigarette box before his detention.

A forensic report confirmed that, although the counterfeit bills closely resembled real currency, they could mislead ordinary, non-expert individuals. The Public Prosecution charged him with possession and promotion of counterfeit financial notes in 2025, and using them to obtain goods and property from a hotel and a store under false pretenses.