A Nigerian judge sentenced a Chinese man to two years in prison for ripping up Naira notes, the Bloomberg has reported.
A federal court in Lagos convicted Li Lei Lei of “mutilating the Nigerian currency” during an altercation with airport officials while he was trying to leave the country in mid-May, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said in a statement on Tuesday.
Li “angrily tore to pieces” N3,200 ($7.70) in bank notes when immigration officials at the West African nation’s international airport in Lagos searched his luggage for drugs, the EFCC said.
Li pleaded guilty to four charges of breaking central bank legislation, according to the anti-graft agency. The judge handed down a sentence of six months in prison for each charge, or the option of a N200,000 fine, it said.