Stiff penalties for jewel frauds

Penalties for the false description of diamonds, gold, platinum and other jewellery should be set at up to three years in jail or a Dh1 million fine, FNC told.

ABU DHABI // After three hours of an often heated debate, the FNC approved a law to impose stiff new penalties on fraudulent jewellery dealers.

It suggested the penalty for the false description of diamonds, gold, platinum and other jewellery should be set at up to three years in jail or a Dh1million fine.

If approved by the Cabinet, merchants will have to make sure all their goods bear the UAE's official stamps, or foreign-approved stamps, indicating their gold, silver, or platinum content.

Much of yesterday's discussion centred on whether the law should cover goods in transit through the UAE. "Eighty per cent of the goods that come into the country come in to be exported, only 20 per cent stay here," Rashid Ahmed bin Fahad, the head of the authority overseeing precious stones and rare metals trade, told the council.