Criminal Law Case Study: Exercises

Case summary: R v Arnaouti

Read the case summary below and then try the exercises on it. Refer to the 'answer key' post for the answers.

In 2005, a British court jailed four members (1) ____ a counterfeit money gang for a combined total of 21 years. The gang, whose members hailed (2)_____ Liverpool and Manchester, had printed more than £2.5m worth of fake £10 notes and $3.5m worth of counterfeit US notes. Its members were brought (3) _____ justice as the result of a joint operation between the National Crime Squad and the US Secret Service. The suspicions of the US authorities had been aroused (4) _____ British holidaymakers arriving in Florida started trying to pass fake dollars.

The scam was described as ‘sophisticated and audacious’. Det Supt Lewis of the National Crime Squad commented as follows:

‘This is one of the most sophisticated counterfeit printing operations we've uncovered in recent years. These were good quality banknotes, good quality travellers' cheques which could have had a very significant undermining effect on those economies.’

The crime was uncovered after police raided a printing firm in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, in December 2002. The printing firm turned out to be bogus – a mere front for the counterfeiting operation. Police found counterfeiting machinery (5) ______ the premises, including a four-colour printer, a paper guillotine, papers and inks, as well as a number of holdalls packed (6) ____ fake notes.

One interesting feature of the case was the role played (7) _____ an investigative team from the BBC. During a six-month surveillance operation, a team of undercover BBC reporters infiltrated the gang. Posing as crooks, they were able to secretly film the gang producing £10 and £20 notes and $100 bills.

Commenting (8) _____ this aspect of the case, Judge Bernard Lever said the BBC ‘must ensure they are extremely careful in vetting undercover operatives and must understand the frustrations of police involved in the other matter’. He added: ‘However, senior managers and employed journalists at the BBC acted in good faith and two people sentenced today were sentenced on evidence from the BBC.’

The ringleader of the gang, Anatasios Arnaouti, a 37-year-old Mancunian, was jailed (9) ____ eight years for conspiracy to make counterfeit currency, conspiracy to pass counterfeit currency and conspiracy (10) ____ handle stolen goods.

The judge told him he was a highly intelligent and devious criminal, adding: ‘You were the instigator and prime mover and this massive enterprise was your brainchild.’

Exercise 1: true or false?

Read the case summary and decide whether the statements below are true or false.

1) One of the members of the counterfeiting gang was jailed for a period of eight years. (true/false)
2) The gang’s counterfeiting operations took place both in Manchester and in Florida. (true/false)
3) When the police raided a printing firm in Ashton-under-Lyne in 2002, they caught the gang in the act of manufacturing fake banknotes. (true/false)
4) Det Supt Lewis did not think that the counterfeiting operation could have had a damaging effect on the economic situation in Britain and the USA. (true/false)
5) The judge in the case warned the BBC to be careful when selecting people to take part in undercover operations. (true/false)

Exercise 2: synonyms

The words and phrases listed from (1) to (10) below are all used in the case report. Decide which of the alternative words listed from (a) to (d) is the most appropriate synonym for them in the context of the case report.

1) bogus
a) untrue
b) imitation
c) sham
d) fictitious

2) holidaymaker
a) tourist
b) tour operator
c) hedonist
d) travel agent

3) vet
a) review
b) check out
c) scrutinise
d) treat

4) in good faith
a) with devotion
b) devoutly
c) reasonably
d) with honest belief and intention

5) devious
a) indirect
b) very naughty
c) cunning
d) circuitous

6) instigator
a) leader
b) mentor
c) hooligan
d) agitator

7) holdall
a) box
b) suitcase
c) drawer
d) bag

8) crook
a) culprit
b) criminal
c) malefactor
d) delinquent

9) brainchild
a) idea
b) prodigy
c) fault
d) fancy

10) jail
a) remand
b) suspend
c) sentence
d) imprison

Exercise 3: prepositions

Prepositions are words used with a noun or pronoun which show place, position, time or method. Prepositions such as to, in, from, between, after, before etc. normally come before a noun or pronoun and give information about how, when or where something has happened (‘she arrived before lunch’, ‘I travelled to London’).

Insert the correct prepositions in the gaps numbered from (1) to (10) in the case report.