Russia to Speed Up Sale of Confiscated Property Amid Record Budget Deficit
Russian authorities plan to significantly shorten the timeframe for selling confiscated property in an effort to generate revenue for the federal budget more quickly amid its substantial deficit.
The Russian Ministry of Finance has prepared a draft government resolution proposing to reduce the timeframe for selling confiscated property from 100 to 44 days.
To expedite the process, they plan to shorten the deadline for accepting bids after the starting price is reduced and the payment period for the purchase.
If the winning bidder refuses to sign the contract or fails to pay for the lot, a repeat auction will not be held. The right to purchase the property will be transferred to the next bidder.
At the same time, participants will be required to pay a deposit, which should reduce the number of cases where a winning bidder refuses to complete the purchase after winning the auction.
The Russian Ministry of Finance also proposes further reducing the price of property for which no buyers have been found.
Under current rules, if confiscated property cannot be sold at the initial price, its value is gradually reduced by 30%, 60%, and 90%.
If there is still no buyer even after the maximum discount, the property may be put up for resale, sold directly, destroyed, or disposed of.
The new rules introduce an additional step. If, after all discounts, the value of a lot exceeds 10,000 rubles, the next auction may start at that exact amount.
The Ministry of Finance states that this will reduce the costs of storing property that loses value or deteriorates over time.
The new rules are expected to take effect on July 1, 2027.
They will apply, in particular, to seized vehicles and equipment, goods detained by customs, as well as physical evidence that has become the property of the state.
Proceeds from the sale of such property go directly to Russia’s federal budget.
Despite the Russian authorities’ intentions to increase the efficiency of selling confiscated property, budget revenues from these sales are currently declining.
According to the Russian Treasury, in the first half of 2026, the budget received approximately 806 million rubles from the sale of confiscated property. This is 42% less than during the same period in 2025, when the figure stood at about 1.4 billion rubles.
Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Global, believes that even after the procedure is changed, revenue from the sale of confiscated property will remain relatively low.
According to her estimate, the Russian government will be able to generate no more than 2 billion rubles per year from the sale of confiscated property.
The attempt to sell confiscated property more quickly comes amid a sharp deterioration in the state of Russia’s federal budget.
As of the first half of 2026, the Russian Federation’s federal budget deficit reached 5.7 trillion rubles, whereas the initial projection for the full year was a deficit of 3.79 trillion rubles.
In 2027, Russian authorities expect a budget deficit of 3.18 trillion rubles, and in 2028—about 3.5 trillion rubles.
To reduce the deficit, the Russian government has already raised the VAT rate from 20% to 22% and increased a number of business taxes.
However, these measures have failed to significantly improve the situation, as substantial budget expenditures on the war against Ukraine continue to strain Russia’s finances.
This is reported by Russian media.
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