In a case that brewed more than just coffee, the Criminal Court has sentenced a individual to nine months and 18 days in jail. The sentence follows his attempt to pay for a 600 rufiyaa purchase with a fake bank transfer slip.
The incident took place on July 23, 2022, at “Ifaan Trade” shop on Kinbigas Magu in Male’, where a individual named Ibrahim Bashaar Hameed acquired three 500-gram cans of Nescafe powder and one large XL can, presenting a fraudulent slip as payment. Despite his claims in court that the SIM card used for the transaction wasn’t registered under his name, the state successfully argued otherwise.
CCTV footage from the shop played a pivotal role in the case, with a police digital evidence examiner identifying seven features matching Bashaar’s appearance. The court found this evidence sufficient to convict him of knowingly providing a false document—a fifth-degree felony involving deceitful documentation practices.
As incidents of fraudulent transactions continue to rise in the Maldives, authorities urge vigilance and caution to prevent falling victim to similar scams.
