Bridgetown.
The Government of Barbados is proposing new legislation which will making it illegal to exchange cash for gold by the end of the year, instead legitmate gold dealers would be required to pay for gold with cheques.
Speaking to the media at his office in Wildey office Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite, said the Old Metal Dealers Act and the sale of Old Metal Act are being amended as part of a greater regulated industry.
Anyone found guilty of stealing jewellery to exchange for cash or stealing copper, could, by summary conviction be sentenced to two years in prison or fined $10,000 or both.
Those convicted for indictable offences could be sentenced to ten years in jail or fined $10,000 years in jail or both.
The Attorney General stated that the Government was not trying to forced out of business, under the new legislation, they would be require to keep gold in its orginal state for 48 hours, to give the Royal Barbados Police Force time to determine if the gold is connected to any crime reported to the police.
Thefts of jewllery and copper have increased in Barbados in the past two years
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