The Russian government has submitted a bill to the State Duma that would allow the registration of cars placed on international wanted lists at the request of so-called “unfriendly” states. The development was reported by RIA Novosti.
Under the document, the Russian Interior Ministry would be empowered to establish a special procedure for registration actions involving such vehicles. The bill says the measure is intended to “protect the lawful interests of persons” who possess vehicles wanted at the initiative of those countries.
As The Moscow Times notes, the draft was first introduced in February. The Interior Ministry had previously argued that the changes were necessary because, after the start of the war, Western countries stopped responding to requests from Russian agencies. Because of this, the ministry says, police cannot determine whether a particular car was in fact stolen.
Earlier, Izvestia reported on a scheme for legalizing cars stolen in Europe. According to the newspaper, such vehicles are brought into Russia through occupied territories of Ukraine, where simplified registration procedures are in place.
After the initial paperwork, the car is registered to a front person and then driven, for example, to Rostov-on-Don, where it is re-registered to the actual owner. As a result, Russian databases show a “clean” registration history for the vehicle.