Leston Lawrence, 35, was fined around £147,500 last February by Justice Doody after being convicted of stealing the nugget-sized pieces of gold, known as “pucks”.

However, three judges have agreed to reduce his fine to around £101,000 because the gold was not as valuable when he stole it, the Ottawa Citizen reports.

The judges said Justice Doody had “erred by using the market value of the gold as the amount of the fine”, instead of the “proceeds of crime”.

Mr Lawrence will have to pay the fine within three years or he will be jailed for 30 months.