Police arrest Italian man with counterfeit banknotes worth over 5,300 euros
A thirty-year-old Italian man circulated fake banknotes between late June and mid-July in the Maribor and Celje area. Criminal investigators found more than 180 counterfeit euro banknotes in his possession.
Police arrest Italian man with counterfeit banknotes worth over 5,300 euros
A thirty-year-old man with Italian citizenship distributed counterfeit banknotes in denominations of 20 and 100 euros into circulation during the period between 29 June and 11 July in the wider Maribor and Celje area. This was reported by the Maribor Police Directorate, with further details provided by Delo.
Experts from the National Forensic Laboratory examined the money and determined it to be counterfeit. According to initial data, the suspect exchanged the money for goods or services in at least seven different locations. Whilst investigators have confirmed the discovery of at least 20 counterfeit banknotes of lower denomination and several of the 100-euro denomination, the total figure is likely not final.
Police warn that some of the fake money is still circulating among residents. People who have it in their wallets may not even know. For this reason, law enforcement agencies continue to receive new reports and are continuing to gather evidence.
Criminal investigators arrested the man on Sunday, 12 July, near Gorišnica Police Station. During his arrest, they seized additional counterfeit banknotes of both denominations from him. On the basis of a court-approved order, they subsequently searched his vehicle, where they discovered a further 164 twenty-euro banknotes and 21 one-hundred-euro banknotes. These too were sent for verification, which confirmed they were counterfeit.
The on-duty investigative judge at the District Court in Ptuj ordered that he report regularly to the police station. Under Article 243 of the Criminal Code, he faces imprisonment of one to ten years for the offence of counterfeiting money.
Source: Delo