A student at the University of Calgary (Canada) tried to deceive customs officers at Pulkovo airport
A student at the University of Calgary (Canada) tried to deceive customs officers at Pulkovo airport. Reporting the currency being moved, she underestimated its actual amount by 4.5 times.
Pulkovo customs officers stopped a 22-year-old native of St. Petersburg while flying to Frankfurt in transit through Istanbul. The woman told the customs inspector she was carrying 9,000 euros, an amount not exceeding the legal limit
But when customs officers searched the passenger’s luggage, they found another 27,000 euros, 150 Canadian dollars and 7,000 rubles in a cloth backpack and suitcase – a total of more than $40,000. The amount of illegally transported currency exceeded the equivalent of $30,000 U.S. dollars or 2.7 million rubles at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of Russia on the date of the border crossing
When the girl realized that there was no way to hide anything from customs officers, she tried to explain the “accidental” origin of the cash by her mother, who, while helping to stow the luggage, had put the money for daily expenses and tuition without her knowledge. Later, the student explained that she had attempted to smuggle the cash because of the restrictions imposed, and she did not know the procedure for declaring currency
Accounting for the amount of cash currency being moved, as well as the actions and explanations of the citizen, the customs officers began a check. In the actions of the student there are signs of a crime under Article 200.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (smuggling of cash and (or) monetary instruments). The question of initiating criminal proceedings will be decided after the completion of the check
– From March 2, 2022, it is prohibited to export foreign cash over 10 thousand US dollars in equivalent outside the Russian Federation. However, the export of cash in Russian rubles in excess of the established limit is allowed provided that a passenger customs declaration is submitted. This can also be done remotely in the personal cabinet on the website of the Federal Customs Service of Russia. Duties and fees for declaring cash currency are not provided, – explained the head of Pulkovo customs Anatoly Timoshchenkov.