Police in Remera, Gasabo District are holding a man said to be part of the ring that circulates counterfeit currencies. The suspect was apprehended on Tuesday at a forex bureau located at Kisementi, attempting to exchange fake Euros amounting to 3250, approximately Rwf3.3 million. Police spokesperson for the City of Kigali, Supt. Emmanuel Hitayezu said that “investigations have identified other people connected to this financial crime.” “When a forex bureau attendant realised that the 65 euro notes given to him were counterfeit, he was quick to call the police, and the suspect was arrested right at the scene,” Supt. Hitayezu said. He said investigations show that the suspect is part of the same ring; some have been arrested while others including those that are actually known, are still in hiding. “In this specific case, for example, we found out that the person that sold these fake notes [to the suspect] is one of those on the wanted list over the same crime, whose accomplices were arrested in the recent past,” said the spokesperson. According to investigations, the suspect, a businessman in Kimironko in Gasabo District, had bought the counterfeit notes at Rwf1.5 million, apparently hoping to more than double the profits. “You will be moved by the profits involved in the illegal act and you will lose even the little you had. Rwf1.5 million genuine money for fake 3250 Euros was like burning it, and a big loss that is avoidable,” he observed. “There are different groups involved in this; those who sell fake notes and those who buy and attempt to exchange them, and all these people are among those that have been arrested,” Hitayezu said. At least 38 cases related to counterfeit currency have been registered in Kigali in the last three months; according to Hitayezu, with majority implicated arrested and prosecuted. “Most of these criminals are reported by forex bureaus and mobile banking agents where they attempt to defraud them. This is an indication of vigilance and proof that with this kind of partnership, others will also be arrested,” he noted. Circulators of fake foreign currencies target especially forex bureaus while fraudsters in the local currency especially in the denominations of Rwf2, 000 and Rwf5, 000, tend to target mobile banking agents, according to Hitayezu. “Overall, Police receive fewer cases of people defrauded compared to those arrested and crime foiled,” he explained.
