The Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) reminds the public that it is an offence to possess counterfeit currency and to claim upon a forged document.
The reminder is being issued against the backdrop of recent charges brought against Colley Bubb, a 58-year old vendor of Balthazar, St Andrew.
Bubb has been charged with the offences of attempting to claim upon a forged document and possession of a counterfeit coin.
The offence was committed on 1 September 2018. The accused was granted bail in the sum of $8,000 with one surety and he is set to appear at the St George’s #1 Magistrate Court on Friday, 28 September 2018.
The RGPF urges the general public to exercise utmost vigilance and caution when exchanging currency for goods and/or services. The RGPF specifically cautions bus and taxi drivers, shopkeepers and other vendors to avoid being a target of persons using counterfeit currency.
Persons coming into contact with any suspensive counterfeit currency, whether coin or note, are advised to immediately contact the Financial Intelligence Unit at 435-2373/4 or the Police Headquarters at 440-3999 or CID at 440-3921.
Criminal Code Chapter 72A of Volume 4 of the 2010 Continuous Revised Laws of Grenada provides in sections 310 and 311 addresses the matter of claiming upon a forged document. The section states, “if any person, with intent to defraud, demands or accepts, for himself or herself or for any other person, any money or money’s worth as being due under or by virtue of any document which he knows to be forged or not to be genuine, he shall be liable to the same punishment as if he or she had forged the document with intent to defraud some person of the money or money’s worth.”
With regard to possessing forged document the law states that whoever “has in his or her possession any document, stamp, or coin which is forged, counterfeited or falsified, or which he knows not to be genuine, shall be liable to the like punishment as if he or she had, with that intent, forged, counterfeited, or falsified, as the case may be, the document, stamp or coin.”
Persons charged with intent to defraud by counterfeiting or falsifying any coin, or who imports or exports any counterfeited or falsified coin shall be liable to imprisonment for 5 years. Persons who are convicted of being a common coiner, or a repeat offender of this particular offence, shall be liable to imprisonment for 15 years.
Persons are reminded that these offences would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Office of Commissioner of Police
