Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law establishing criminal liability for the unauthorized production and illicit trafficking of amber, jade or other semiprecious stones in order to counter such violations.
the Relevant amendments to the criminal code of the Russian Federation. In particular, for “making a deal associated with obviously illegally extracted amber, jade or other semiprecious stones, as well as their illegal possession, transportation or shipment in any form, condition, except for jeweller and household products and scrap”, persons previously falling under the same article of the Code of administrative offences face fines of up to one million rubles or imprisonment for up to two years.
if we are talking about large quantities of stones, the cost of which exceeds 2 million 250 thousand roubles, the penalty can reach 2 million rubles and imprisonment up to 4 years, reports TASS.
According to the interior Ministry of Russia, the volume confiscated in 2014-2016 illegally mined amber in the average was 15.7 tons per year estimated cost of 1.3 billion rubles.
Daily in the Kaliningrad region thousands of divers out to sea for amber. This stone is in great demand among jewelers all over the world. For many years the cured resin was produced on the shores of the Baltic sea. Now hunters sun stone buy boats and expensive diving equipment, to try your luck on the bottom. They are not only breaking the law, but also seriously risk their lives.
