By Rob Harris
London: An Australian man faces up to two years in a Russian prison for failing to declare a platinum diamond engagement ring worth hundreds of thousands of dollars on arrival in Moscow.
Customs officers at Domodedovo airport discovered the ring – designed by US jeweller Harry Winston and worth an estimated 22 million roubles (about $400,000) – on the 60-year-old man who transited from Australia through Dubai, the Federal Customs Service said.
Russian custom officers seized this ring, valued at more than $400,000, from a man they said was an Australian resident.Credit: Federal Customs Service of Russia via Telegram
The government agency said on its Telegram channel that an inspector stopped the man in the airport’s “green” corridor and the ring was found in his backpack. The agency said the ring was made with 950-carat platinum, with an inlaid six-carat diamond and two baguette side stones.
The man, who has not been identified but was described as an Australian resident, reportedly told officers it was an engagement ring for his fiancee and that he was not aware of strict customs regulations before transporting the jewellery.
The agency said he was charged under Russian law for evasion of customs payment of a large amount. It said the punishment was imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to $9135.
The man’s arrest was widely reported in Russian media and circulated on various social media platforms.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it did not have a consular role relating to the incident, while members of the Australian expat community in Russia told this masthead they were puzzled as to the man’s identity.
The Russian agency used the discovery of the ring to promote some other recent customs discoveries, including when officers seized radioactive volcanic sand in the luggage of a tourist who flew in from India last month.
It said the sand had traces of the mineral monazite, which contains the radioactive element thorium-232 and is dangerous to human health.
Customs officers at Grozny airport in the region of Chechnya also recently found massive gold chains worth 19 million roubles on two female passengers. The women, who were flying to Turkey, put the jewellery on their necks and “hid it under their clothes”.
Officers found the chains using a hand-held metal detector. The women said the necklaces were their personal items and that they were not aware of the rules for moving them.
The Federal Customs Service was contacted for comment.
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