A group of senators led by Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Nikolai Zhuravlev proposed to tighten responsibility for the production, purchase, storage, transportation and sale of unmarked alcoholic beverages and tobacco products on a large scale. The relevant bill has been submitted to the Duma database.
The authors propose to amend Articles 171.1 and 171.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. For these offenses committed on a large scale, a fine of 500,000 to 1 million rubles is provided. (currently – up to 500,000 rubles), or a fine in the amount of wages or other income for a period of up to three years (currently – up to two years), or imprisonment for up to three years with a fine of up to 200,000 rubles (currently – up to 120,000 rubles) or in the amount of income for the period up to one year (currently – up to six months).
If a crime is committed by a group of persons by prior agreement, an organized group, or on an especially large scale, it is proposed to impose a fine of 1 million to 2 million rubles instead of 400,000 to 800,000 rubles, or a fine in the amount of income for a period of one to three years. It is also possible to be punished with forced labor for up to five years, or imprisonment for up to six years with a fine of up to 2 million rubles. (currently – up to 1 million rubles) or in the amount of income for a period of three to five years.
At the same time, the proposed changes relate only to an increase in fines and the term of forced labor, while the punishment in the form of imprisonment remains unchanged. In addition, the bill reduces the threshold of large size from 100,000 to 50,000 rubles, and especially large – from 1 million to 500,000 rubles.
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