The State Duma of the Russian Federation has passed a law in the second and third readings simultaneously on the in-absentia administrative prosecution of citizens residing abroad and the seizure of their property for public criticism of the Russian authorities. This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service, according to UNN.
Details
The list of "offenses" includes calls for sanctions, abuse of mass media freedom, public identification of the actions and decisions of the leadership of the USSR and Nazi Germany, and others. The document expands the list of grounds for prosecuting relocants, details the mechanisms for confiscating their assets, and legalizes the in-absentia consideration of such administrative cases.
The State Duma Committee on State Building and Legislation has finalized a bill that introduces in-absentia administrative prosecution of citizens residing abroad and the seizure of their property for public criticism of the Russian authorities.
With these initiatives, against the backdrop of the protracted war against Ukraine, the Russian authorities seek to minimize the informational and political influence of relocants, as well as to create additional risks for them if they maintain assets in Russia. To date, according to various estimates, between 600,000 and 900,000 Russians have left the Russian Federation and remain abroad since the start of the full-scale invasion. At the same time, as of May 2024, the Kremlin has already included more than 1,200 individuals and legal entities in the official register of "foreign agents." Thus, the repressive apparatus of the aggressor country has secured a powerful base of potential "clients,"
According to legal experts, the introduction of the aforementioned norms creates prerequisites for the further erosion of legal guarantees for private property in the Russian Federation. The authorities also gain the official possibility of selective application of legislation for political purposes, which can be used as an additional mechanism for extracting resources in favor of the state amid increasing budget pressure. As of the end of April, the Russian budget deficit exceeded 5.877 trillion rubles (approximately 2.5% of GDP).