MOSCOW, March 5 (RAPSI) – Lawmakers from the Lipetsk Region, 400 km south of Moscow, have submitted a bill to the State Duma to increase fines and prison terms for alcohol trafficking, RIA Novosti reported on Thursday.

The regional MPs propose amending a Criminal Code article on the production, storage, transport and sale of products and services that violate safety regulations. A new definition would be added to the article for “the sale of alcoholic or alcohol-containing products that do not meet state standards.”

The current penalties for this crime include fines of up to 300,000 rubles ($4,850) and a prison term of up to two years. The bill would increase the fine to 500,000 rubles ($8,100) and the prison term to three years.

Penalties for premeditated crimes committed by a group of individuals involving products, works or services intended for children under six and for crimes that result in serious damage to health or in death by negligence would include fines ranging between 500,000 and 1 million rubles ($8,100-$16,200) and prison terms of up to six years  plus a 1-million-ruble fine.

The current penalties are fines of 100,000 to 500,000 rubles and prison terms of up to six years plus a fine of up to 500,000 rubles.

The prison term for crimes that result in the death of two or more people would be increased from 10 to 15 years.

The bill’s authors write that these socially dangerous crimes violate the approved procedure for business transactions, undermine business foundations and can result in death. They believe that the current penalties are ineffective and do not correspond to the level of social danger posed by these crimes.