A lady who stole diamonds worth £4.2 million (Rs 42 crore) and exchanged them for pebbles has been fined to repay just £250. (Rs 25,000).

Lulu Lakatos, who is presently serving a five-and-a-half-year prison sentence, was indeed caught on tape pretending to be a diamond specialist named Anna. By posing as a gem specialist, she was able to steal seven stones, one of which was valued at £2.2 million on its own, from a London jewellery store.

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According to accounts, she started the theft in 2016 by informing the jewellers’ workers that she was there to assess valuable jewels on behalf of a wealthy Russian customer. The gems Lulu examined were supposed to be placed in a padlocked handbag and kept in the vault of the New Bond Street shop.

Lulu and her companions departed the country and flew to France just hours after the heist. Her thievery was, however, captured on camera, as she was seen dropping the purse into her handbag before replacing it for a copy.

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When Boodles, the jewellery business, opened their safe the next day, they discovered the theft. Seven little garden pebbles were used in place of the stones. According to reports, the original diamonds were never found.

Following the unexpected revelation, The Guardian reported that the 60-year-old was arrested and convicted guilty of conspiracy to steal in 2021.

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Even though Lulu was condemned to prison for stealing the valuable stones, she was only ordered to pay a minor fine. The 60-year-old was forced to pay merely £245 at the hearing at Southwark Crown Court.

“There is a remarkable disparity between the benefit number of £4,299,671 and the accessible assets of 293 euros and 57 cents,” remarked Judge Alexander Milne QC. Because the money had already been taken, the judge imposed a one-day default sentence with a month to pay. Lulu is anticipated to be extradited to France soon.