Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has proposed stricter punishment for breaking migration laws.

"Fines and terms of imprisonment must grow," he said at a government meeting on Thursday.

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Fines should grow to 300,000 rubles (about $ 9 600), while terms of imprisonment should increase up to five years or even up to seven years in the case of organized criminal groups, the prime minister said.

He described violations of migration laws as very high-profile cases.

The illegal migration rate is growing: the Federal Migration Service initiated 230 criminal cases in 2006 and about 400 in 2011, he said. "Yet most of the violators pay small fines, approximately 5,000 rubles ($ 160), and are let go.

Certainly, this makes no sense," the prime minister said.

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