Putin signed a law allowing the seizure of Russian citizens' assets abroad for criticizing the regime

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing for the administrative prosecution of Russian citizens abroad for “offenses against the interests” of the state. 

The new law allows for the seizure of property and bank accounts of citizens who have left the country as a precautionary measure until the fine is paid in full, and the value of the seized property may be disproportionate to the amount of the fine itself. 

The list of offenses subject to punishment includes insulting the head of state or officials, “discrediting” the army, calls for the imposition of international sanctions, as well as publicly comparing the USSR and Nazi Germany. The law will officially take effect on September 1, 2026.

In legal practice, Russian courts have previously imposed fines en masse under these administrative provisions on individuals residing outside Russia, so the new law merely formalizes existing practice. However, the possibility of seizing property in Russia as a precautionary measure in administrative cases is being introduced for the first time.

This was reported by Meduza.

In Russia, a court handed down harsh sentences to two people accused of financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including a Ukrainian citizen residing in Moscow. Both were sentenced to lengthy prison terms and fines, and the charges themselves relate to money transfers that investigators link to aid for the Ukrainian army, according to Russian media.

In Rostov-on-Don, a local court found Sergei Korovainy guilty of so-called “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces due to a reaction in a building chat on the Max messenger app.