What to do if you find a diamond?

From childhood, everyone remembers the series “Prostokvashino”, in which Uncle Fyodor, Matroskin and Sharik dig up a treasure and use the money they find to buy a cow. In the cartoon, the logic is simple: “what I find is mine.” In reality, the discovery of the three friends could well have been confiscated in court. In what cases is a person entitled to half of the treasure, in what cases is he entitled to a quarter, and in what cases can he face a real sentence – in the material of “Sphere” Reading time: 5 minutes

Found a treasure. Is it mine?

According to the law (Article 233 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation), a treasure is money or valuable objects buried in the ground or otherwise hidden, the owner of which cannot be identified or, by virtue of the law, has lost the right to it. That is, initially it is an ownerless thing. However, whether the treasure belongs to the person who found it depends on the contents of the find. Let’s imagine that you dug up an unremarkable wooden box containing money and a couple of gold jewelry. The find may enrich you a little, but it is unlikely to be of historical value. In this case, it is yours, you have the right to do with it as you please. If the coat of arms of the Romanov family is carved on the box, and the money inside resembles minted coins of the 17th century, then there is a high probability that the treasure is of historical value, which means it belongs to the state. In any case, in such situations, experts recommend not to try to hide the wealth found and to act using legal methods. Take a photograph of the treasure and hand it over to the police or prosecutor’s office with an inventory of all items, you will be given a treasure discovery report. In order for the document to receive legal force, find three witnesses who will confirm that it was you who dug up the “treasure”. Next, send the treasure for examination: you can contact a local museum or submit it to a private laboratory. If experts confirm that the jewelry box is of historical value, then you will be paid a reward: 50% of its value if you are the owner of the land, and 25% if you found a valuable item on someone else’s property (the second quarter is paid, respectively, to the owner). If the examination establishes that the treasure is of no historical interest, then it will rightfully be considered yours. However, before this you will need to pay personal income tax on the find.

I found a piece of amber. At least he’s mine?

No. Of course, any person who unexpectedly finds a pearl, diamond or nugget, the first reaction is to take it and run. However, the desire to get rich in such a situation is punishable by law. If you find some beautiful pebble while walking or traveling around Russia and are not sure of its value, but would like to keep it as a souvenir, it is advisable to submit your find for examination. There they will tell you exactly whether you have chosen an ordinary mineral or a semi-precious (precious) stone. In the first case, you can safely take the “souvenir” with you. In the second case, take your find to the police. What if you keep it for yourself? According to Article 191 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, illegal possession of amber, jade and other semi-precious stones and metals is punishable by a fine of up to one million rubles or even imprisonment for up to two years with a fine of up to 200 thousand rubles. Illegal possession of precious metals, stones or pearls is even punishable by imprisonment for up to five years with a fine of up to 500 thousand rubles. Don’t try to play tomb robber and return the find to the state. Moreover, if you voluntarily hand over precious stones or metals in ingots, products and scrap to the tax office, you can count on a reward.

What cannot be exported from countries popular with tourists?

Precious stones, gold, treasure – all these are obvious values, the transportation and illegal storage of which are monitored by all states of the world. Nevertheless, in many countries there are laws protecting things that are atypical for a Russian person. For example, Sardinian sand is considered the property of the Italian people, and is prohibited from being exported from the island. In most tourist countries, there is a ban on the export of antiques, art objects, archaeological artifacts, shells, skins and stuffed wild animals. If you decide to vacation in Thailand, remember that you will not be able to take durian, coconut and watermelon with you on the way back. Traditional Chinese medicine medicines cannot be exported from China if their total value exceeds 300 yuan. It is assumed that they may be exported for resale. Greece prohibits tourists from taking “as souvenirs” antiques and any objects found at the bottom of the sea or during excavations. If there is no appropriate permission from the country’s Ministry of Culture, then you can receive criminal penalties for export. It is prohibited to export ancient musical scores from Brazil, and wood carvings from Bali. Each country has its own understanding of “value,” so before you dig up something somewhere and take it for yourself, it is better to refer to the legislation of a particular state. As a child, many people dreamed that they would accidentally find a large sum of money or unexpectedly discover a treasure. Almost no one would think that the find should be handed over to the police. However, adult life often reminds us that money can be more than just an easy gift of fate. You also need to take responsibility for them. How not to break the law if you want to preserve what you find – in the material of “Sphere”. Reading time: 6 minutes

“What I found is mine”

This is a famous phrase from the Soviet cartoon “Prostokvashino”, which is uttered by the characters when they find a treasured treasure in the ground. With the money they found, they buy a cow and don’t think at all about what responsibility they face for appropriating someone else’s property. In real life, it is also possible to discover treasure. For example, when working on a plot of land. There are many such cases, lawyers say. The first thing you need to understand is that when a treasure is discovered, its owner becomes not the one who dug it up, but the one on whose land it was done. Targeted search for treasures and unauthorized excavations are prohibited in Russia, so digging in the hope of finding something valuable can only be done on your own site. If you find treasure, then by law you must contact the police and report what you found. A treasure is money or valuable objects buried in the ground or otherwise hidden, the owner of which cannot be identified, or by virtue of the law has lost the right to it. As a general rule, the treasure is divided equally between the finder and the owner of the land. However, if the property found, for example, coins, is of cultural value, it must be transferred to the state. In order not to get confused and to avoid possible adverse consequences, you should hand over the discovered treasure for inventory to the nearest police station. Next, it will be checked for value and if it is confirmed, the finder will receive compensation in the amount of 50% of the value, otherwise the treasure will be returned.

For reasons of conscience

Surely many have seen social videos in which a person supposedly accidentally loses paper bills or a wallet, and then watches the reaction of passers-by. Many in such situations are guided solely by the principles of conscience: some run after a passerby to give him the find, others, without hesitation, take the funds for themselves. Few people think about the legal consequences. Alexander Zhalnin, head of the civil practice of the law firm Gebel and Partners, notes that money found on the street or in public transport is not a treasure, but a find. By law, the finder is obliged to notify the owner and return the find to him or notify the police or local government if the owner of the item is unknown. “If the owner is not immediately found on the spot, in order to keep the money for yourself, you need to contact the police and report the find. It is better to immediately write a statement and indicate the time, place and circumstances under which the money was found. After drawing up a protocol and inventory, police officers will issue a notification coupon, according to which you can later take the find for yourself. The find can be kept both by the police and by the person who discovered it,” explains Alexander Zhalnin. In the second case, the person is responsible, responsible for the safety of the money and is obliged to return it upon request. If after 6 months from the date of filing the application the owner does not show up, you can take the money for yourself. Not reporting the find and immediately pocketing the money is dangerous. Even though failure to fulfill civil obligations to return property does not in itself constitute theft, a person can still easily become a suspect in a crime. Therefore, even if the find was not reported immediately, it should be done after some time. Alexander Zhalnin warns that if the finder knows that the item belongs to another person, he has no reason to believe that the item was thrown away and he deliberately hides the origin of what was found, the find develops into theft, for which criminal liability is provided. For example, a situation would be considered a crime when a person sees money falling out of a passerby’s pocket, but instead of reporting this, he secretly takes possession of the property and appropriates it for himself. Theft is a criminal offense of minor to moderate severity (the severity depends on the damage and the method of the theft itself). It involves the secret theft of someone else’s property. Moreover, it must take place without the knowledge of the property owner, otherwise it can be regarded as robbery. The description of theft is given in Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Punishment can be: a fine of up to 80000 rubles, up to 360 hours of compulsory labor, up to 1 year of correctional labor, 2 years of restriction of freedom, 4 months of arrest or imprisonment for up to two years.

Real cases

Often finding money on the street, citizens may think: “If you lost it, it means you didn’t really need it.” There can be many “justifications” for appropriating someone else’s property. For example, in 2018, a security guard at one of the Moscow shopping centers accidentally discovered a million rubles neatly wrapped in film in the parking lot. Of course, the man, inspired by the fact that he had found his annual salary, did not even think about contacting the police. A few days later, law enforcement agencies came to see him. The owner of the banknotes turned out to be a large businessman. He quickly discovered the loss and first of all came to the shopping center, where he could drop the money. Finding nothing, he called the police, who requested CCTV footage and identified who had embezzled the money. A criminal case has been filed against the security guard for theft. There are also many honest citizens. For example, the case of a taxi driver from Kyrgyzstan became widely known. The man worked in Moscow and during one of his shifts he discovered a wallet with money left behind by a passenger in the interior of his car. The driver tried to get in touch with her for a long time to convey what he had found, but without getting through, he drove to her house and waited for about 8 hours for the Muscovite at the entrance to return her wallet. The woman, who did not expect this, generously thanked the taxi employee. Lawyers remind that appropriation of someone else’s property can be interpreted as a crime and ignorance of the law does not exempt you from liability.