MOSCOW, November 29 (RIA Novosti) – A man in Russia’s Far East will go on trial for possession of two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of illegally mined gold worth about 3.5 million rubles ($106,000) that he hid in his car, Russian prosecutors said Friday.
Rustam Kirgizov, 37, is facing up to five years in prison on charges of illegal gold trading, prosecutors in Russia’s Magadan Region said in a statement.
Russia is one of the world’s biggest gold producers, with mining concentrated in the Far East and Siberia.
Individuals illegally produce between 15 and 20 tons of gold every year, nearly 10 percent of Russia’s total output of the precious metal, according to draft legislation presented to lawmakers in 2012.
