Arab national gets 10 years for forging degree certificate

An Arab national, who attempted to trap his wife in a forgery case, has been sentenced to ten years behind bars in absentia. He was convicted of falsifying an education certificate, which he claimed he had earned from a major Arab University. The degree certificate was handed over to the Foreign Ministry by the man’s wife who acted in good faith, according to court details.

The man was later summoned by the ministry after it was discovered that the certificate was carrying counterfeited stamps of the Kingdom’s embassy in an Arab country. The accused would attempt to implicate his wife in the case, stating that he had asked her not to submit the certificate with the ministry as she knew that it was a forged one. But he later confessed to committing the crime as he was desperate to get the degree attested in an effort to get a job.

“I was aware that my certificate wasn’t recognised here. I was trying to get my degree attested as the university, which offered it had closed down long time ago,” the man told prosecutors. “I lost my job and was searching for one. One of the companies told me that I have to get my education degree approved by the competent authorities in the Kingdom if I want to be recruited,” he added. The Arab man told prosecutors that he had paid $1,500 to get his certificate forged.

“All the stamps looked genuine,” he explained. He was put on trial before the High Criminal Court on forgery charges. The man is at large and was sentenced in absentia.