A German man arrested in Austria for alleged fraud after trying to convert thousands of old and damaged euro coins imported from China has been acquitted.

The €1 and €2 coins were collected from scrapped cars and washing machines sent to China from Western countries.

The man, in his 40s, was detained in Austria earlier this year after police found 117kg (257lb) of the coins, worth €15,000 ($17,000; €13,000), in his car.

However an Austrian court has now ruled that his actions were not illegal.

The accused, referred to only as Mr H, had explained how he frequently travelled to China with cash to procure the coins, which he said were found in scrap metal items sentthere to be destroyed.

He said that because the euro coins were not used as currency in China, he could purchase large quantities by weight at a fraction of their value and return to convert them fornotes at Austrian banks using coin-counting machines.

His lawyer, Christoph Eberle, had maintained that the coins were not counterfeit, and that importing and converting the genuine old and damaged coins did not breach anyAustrian law.

To read the complete article, see:
Austria clears German who imported damaged euros from China (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-46453983)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
U.S. MINT RESUMES MUTILATED COIN PROGRAM (https://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n05a32.html)