Russia’s State Duma passes law allowing assets of emigrated Russians to be frozen over offenses ‘aga

Russia’s State Duma has passed, in its second and third readings, a bill that would allow Russians who have left the country to be prosecuted for offenses “directed against the interests of the Russian Federation.” The legislation lists the Articles 13.14.1 and 13.15 (spreading “fake news” and abusing freedom of the press); Articles 13.36, 13.37, and 13.48 (violations in the IT and communications sector); Article 17.13 (disclosing information about protected persons); Article 19.34 (failure to c

The independent Russian news outlet Mediazona explains that under previous law a person’s assets could be frozen only after bailiffs initiated enforcement proceedings. Under the new law, assets may be seized when a report of an offense is drawn up — as a precautionary measure. The explanatory note to the bill said asset freezes would be applied at the administrative proceedings stage to prevent individuals from evading accountability. “Those who have fled abroad and from there, on the money of Western sponsors, call for terrorism and extremism, justify Nazism, and insult our soldiers and officers must understand that they will be held accountable — for criminal offenses and for administrative violations alike,” State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said in comments on the bill. At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication. If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at reports@meduza.io . To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter .

Key points

• The independent Russian news outlet Mediazona explains that under previous law a person’s assets could be frozen only after bailiffs initiated enforcement proceedings.
• Under the new law, assets may be seized when a report of an offense is drawn up — as a precautionary measure.
• The explanatory note to the bill said asset freezes would be applied at the administrative proceedings stage to prevent individuals from evading accountability.
• “Those who have fled abroad and from there, on the money of Western sponsors, call for terrorism and extremism, justify Nazism, and insult our soldiers and officers must understand that they will b…
• At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom.