Stopped upon entry into the country
Russia accuses German of smuggling gold bars
26.08.2024, 22:11
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Citizens from Western countries are repeatedly caught in the spotlight by the Russian justice system. Now a German citizen has been stopped by customs officials as he tries to enter the country. He is said to have tried to smuggle gold bars into the country.
According to authorities, criminal proceedings have been opened in Russia against a German man on charges of gold smuggling. The 58-year-old German citizen attempted to smuggle “13 kilogram gold bars of the highest quality illegally in his mobile home” into the country, Russian customs said. “Criminal proceedings have been initiated.” The statement included pictures showing numerous gold bars of different sizes. The authorities did not provide any details about the man’s identity.
The officials had stopped the man in the Pskov region, which borders Belarus, Latvia and Estonia. They first noticed the largest bars before finding other, smaller bars “in the luggage among the personal belongings” of the German, according to the customs declaration. The authorities estimated the total value of the gold bars at more than 90 million rubles (around 900,000 euros).
Customs officials and employees of the Russian secret service FSB prevented the “illegal import” of the gold. The authorities did not disclose where the suspect is currently staying. If convicted, he faces five years in prison and a fine of up to one million rubles.
In recent years, citizens of Western countries, especially the United States, have been repeatedly arrested in Russia. Washington condemns the practice as a hostage-taking operation designed to blackmail the release of Russian citizens abroad.
At the beginning of August, 24 inmates were released from Russian prisons in the largest prisoner exchange between Russia and the West since the Cold War, including several Germans and the US journalist Evan Gershkovich.