What would you do if you found $55,000 (€50,000)?

Muhannad M turned the lost money in. Muhannad, a Syrian refugee, was granted asylum in Germany last year after fleeing the now decimated city of Homs.

He now lives in the town of Minden where he discovered the cash and savings account books (giving him access to another $110,000) hidden between shelves while assembling a wardrobe given to him by a charitable organization.

Muhannad said that he’d never seen notes of such high value before and first searched the internet to confirm they were real. Once he knew it was legit, he brought it into the town’s office for foreigners, who then handed it over to the police.

Despite the fact that the money could have helped him rescue his two younger brothers from Syria, bringing them to Germany, he said, “Allah would never allow it, to finance your own interests with someone else's property."

"I am a Muslim. I'm not allowed to keep this money. My religion forbids it,” he said.

So he turned in the lost money in an act that police and community are applauding.

“People often report small amounts of money found to the police, but such a large sum is absolutely exceptional,” said the local police. They are now searching for the wardrobe’s owner, but according to German law, Muhannad is entitled to a reward of 3 percent of the found object’s value (close to $5,000 if you include the value of the savings books).

Now safe in Germany, away from the dangers of war, Muhannad M is beginning a new life taking language lessons and plans to further his studies.

TopicsCitizenshipRefugeesyriaGermany

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Syrian refugee finds $55,000 in a wardrobe, turns it in

By Daniele Selby