MOSCOW, September 26 - RAPSI. The Omsk Region Court has sentenced to four years in prison for jewelry smuggling a head of the Altyn Jewelry Holding, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency.

The case of the Altyn jewelry retail network leaders, who were charged with smuggling, has sparked a massive outcry.

The court found Vladimir Sukhoveyev guilty on all counts and sentenced him to four years in prison and a 300,000 ruble ($10,000) fine, the court said.

Between 2005 and 2006, Sukhoveyev joined a criminal group formed by the holding's leaders, the investigators said.

The criminals agreed to smuggle jewelry from Kazakhstan to Russia. They planned to buy jewelry in Turkey, Italy, China and UAE and sell it at Altyn, the investigators said.

The holding said the charges against its leaders were a case of unfair competition.

The Altyn Jewelry Holding was founded in 1990. It had a vast network of jewelry shops in Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the UAE.