Ongoing Police investigations into the recent spate of fake Rwandan currency in circulation, especially in the City, have unearthed and led to the arrest of three men supposedly behind the crime. Marcel Siborurema 53, Eugene Gakwaya 38 and Jean de Dieu Simbigwira 26 were apprehended on Friday in Nyabugogo, Nyarugenge district after they were found in possession of Rwf1.3 million in Rwf5,000 denominations, all fake. According to Supt. Modeste Mbabazi, Police spokesperson for the central region, investigations were launched on February 8 when a mobile agent in Nyabugogo fell victim. “On February 8, a person deposited fake money amounting to Rwf110, 000 at a Mobile Money agent in Nyabugogo, who noticed that it was fake as she was submitting the report at an MTN centre,” Supt. Mbabazi said. He explained that that person withdrew that money few minutes later at a different mobile money agent. “We trailed him until he was arrested few days later, but he told us that he got the money from other people. He led us to these three others, who were caught red-handed on Friday at about 6:30pm in Nyabugogo, with 260 fake notes in Rwf5,000 denominations as they were in the process of distributing it,” he said. “We are still investigating if there are other people involved or if these three are actually the ones who counterfeit the money, sell or distribute it,” Supt. Mbabazi explained. According to Senior Supt. Eric Kanyabuganza, the Director of the Directorate of Economic and Financial Crimes Unit, cases related to counterfeit currency were very few. “We receive cases related to fake money deposited at Mobile Money or Tigo cash agents and even when buying commodities in shops, but it is not a serious issue but it can be if it is not dealt with at an early stage,” said Kanyabuganza. “Various measures were initiated including equipping officers with skills to investigate financial crimes, working with financial institutions like banks to detect and apprehend fraudsters especially those who use fake cheques and electronic cards,” he added.
