Zaidhan receives additional sentence over purchase of iPhones using fake USD

The Criminal Court has sentenced 23-year-old Hussain Zaidhan Ali, Iramaage, S. Hulhudhoo, to seven months and six days in prison for purchasing two iPhones from “I.M Tech” using counterfeit US dollars.

The verdict was delivered on Tuesday, while Zaidhan is already serving a sentence for a similar offence. In the latest case, the court acquitted his co-defendant, Ali Akram of Abby Villa, S. Hithadhoo, citing insufficient evidence.

The incident took place on October 29, 2022, when Zaidhan arranged for two iPhone 14 Pro (256 GB) devices to be delivered to a location near the Kottu Hut restaurant in Malé. Upon receiving the phones, he made a fraudulent payment of USD 2,900, with 29 counterfeit USD 100 bills. 

Zaidhan entered into a plea agreement with the Prosecutor General’s Office. Following his confession under the agreement, Judge Muzammil Nasir sentenced him to imprisonment and ordered him to pay USD 2,990 in restitution to I.M Tech through the Civil Court within one year.

Zaidhan initially faced additional charges of knowingly providing fraudulent documentation and money laundering. However, those charges were referred back to the Prosecutor General’s Office upon their request.

Regarding Ali Akram, the court ruled that the charges of fraud, providing fraudulent documentation, and money laundering had not been proven. The judge noted that, apart from Akram’s presence at the scene on a motorcycle, the prosecution had failed to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that he had actively participated in the offence or knew that the currency was counterfeit.

Police investigations and forensic analysis conducted by the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) confirmed that all 29 counterfeit USD 100 bills used in the transaction had been produced using the same printer.