Yakutia court fines entrepreneurs $2M for illegal sand extraction beyond permits
A court in Yakutia has ordered two sole proprietors to pay nearly 2 million rubles for illegally extracting sand. The ruling follows inspections that revealed large-scale violations at a licensed site near Yakutsk. Both entrepreneurs were found to have exceeded their permitted extraction limits and area.
The case began when the Yakutsk Environmental Prosecutor filed a lawsuit against the two business owners. The claim demanded 1,946,020 rubles and 64 kopecks in compensation for environmental damage caused by illegal sand mining. Inspections showed that one entrepreneur had a licence allowing no more than 9,400 cubic meters of sand per year from the Prigorodny deposit. Instead, they extracted 3,203 cubic meters beyond legal limits and expanded operations by 6,500 square meters.
The court confirmed the entrepreneursâ guilt based on rulings issued on July 1, 2025. One defendant appealed, arguing that expert conclusions relied on outdated satellite images and went beyond the case materials. However, the Civil Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) upheld the original decision. This was not the first offence for one of the entrepreneurs. In 2023, they had already been fined 3.2 million rubles for a similar violation. Alongside the compensation, the court also ordered them to cover 34,460 rubles in legal fees.
The final ruling requires the two sole proprietors to jointly pay 1,946,020 rubles and 64 kopecks to the urban district of Yakutsk. The decision remains in force after the appeal was dismissed. The case highlights the consequences of exceeding licensed extraction limits in the region.
