Morocco: UK man jailed for 10 years after using counterfeit money

A British man has been jailed for ten years in Morocco after being found using and possessing counterfeit money while on holiday in the country.

Oliver Andrews, 29, visited Marrakech with a friend in November 2022 but the pair were arrested on the last night of their trip after using fake notes to buy a drink at a nightclub. Moroccan police informed Andrews that half of his money was counterfeit, reported the BBC.

The two men have already been detained for five months and were convicted and sentenced at a hearing on 11 April. According to reports, in addition to the charge of possessing and distributing counterfeit money, Andrews and his friend were accused of creating an organised crime group, although they were acquitted of the latter last week.

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His family say that Andrews unwittingly used the counterfeit money and hasn’t received any help from British authorities, however, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it had provided assistance. It’s also been alleged that the two defendants were not given an official translator or provided with a lawyer when they were taken in for questioning and were “pressured into signing foreign paperwork” which they didn’t fully understand.

The men have lodged an appeal against his sentence, but have yet to be given a court date and will remain behind bars until then. His family has claimed that when he was visited by his solicitor, Andrews’ health had deteriorated having been without his daily medication, as he suffers from a heart condition.

A report by Morocco World News last year, citing data from Morocco’s central bank, found that 7,372 fake banknotes were in circulation in 2021 amounting to $107,277 at the time (1.1 million Moroccan dinars). Faking banknotes in the North African country can amount to a life-prison sentence.