Culprit fined MVR 38K and ordered 480 hours of community service

Criminal Court has fined an individual MVR 38,000 for using fraudulent US dollars to buy an iPhone and ruled that they must complete 480 hours of community service.

The prosecution filed a lawsuit in November of last year after the accused used counterfeit USD 1,500 notes to purchase an iPhone 14 Pro Max. The accused was charged with willfully presenting unverified documents to another person.

Since the accused confessed to the crime and pleaded guilty in court, the court ruled on Tuesday to convert six months out of the nine months and twelve-day sentence the accused would have originally had to serve as a fine and to convert the remainder as community service.

Such a change would lead to a fine of MVR 38,400 and 480 hours of community service. The accused has been ordered to pay the fine to the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) within six months.

The accused had been in police custody for 30 days during the investigation process.