Jan.04, 2010

According to a draft law amendment, Russian customs officers will be entitled to confiscate cash from travelers if they suspect that the money comes from criminal activities.

If the proposed amendments to the customs code will be approved, the customs officers will be allowed to confiscate the money for five days, newspaper Vedomosti reports. The money - both roubles, foreign currency and checks – can be confiscated if the traveler refuses to inform about the origin of the money.

Currently, the Customs service is entitled only to control that sums up to 3000 USD is declared in line with regulations.

According to the customs service, the new regulation will help the authorities fight money laundering.