Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on June 10 allowing authorities to freeze and seize the property and bank accounts of Russian citizens living abroad as a precautionary measure once they are formally charged with administrative offenses against the interests of the Russian state — without waiting for a court verdict. The law takes effect September 1, 2026, and amends Russia’s Code of Administrative Offenses to cover more than ten categories of violations, including “discrediting” the armed forces, calling for sanctions against Russia, spreading what the state labels as false information or extremist materials, affiliating with “undesirable” organizations, and publicly comparing Soviet and Nazi actions. The seizure of assets is not capped at the value of the fine imposed: a minor administrative charge can trigger the freezing of real estate, vehicles, land, and bank balances worth many times more, and the property owner is not required to be notified.
According to independent Russian outlet Meduza, courts had previously fined exiled Kremlin critics on relevant administrative charges, but this legislation formalizes and expands the practice by enabling pre-trial asset forfeiture in absentia. The Moscow Times noted the law “hands the government a new tool to punish Kremlin critics living abroad, including exiled journalists and activists.” TASS, citing the bill’s amendments to the Code, noted that judges must rule on seizure motions by the following business day after they are filed. Critics say the combination of a broad offense list, no notification requirement, disproportionate seizure scope, and expedited judicial timeline effectively turns a single formal accusation into an immediate, unlimited financial penalty against anyone who has left Russia.