Prosecutors confiscate apartments from Russians
Created: 06/20/2022Updated: 06/20/2022, 16:40
Anne Leiding, spokeswoman for the Munich I public prosecutor's office, makes a press statement in front of the public prosecutor's office.
© Sven Hoppe/dpa
As a result of the war in Ukraine, there are many sanctions against Russians.
In Munich, the judiciary is now confiscating real estate and an account for the first time.
Also nationwide a unique case, as they say.
Munich - Because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, apartments and a bank account have been confiscated from Russian citizens in Germany for the first time, according to official information.
"As far as we know, this is the first case in which real estate has actually been confiscated," said chief public prosecutor Anne Leiding in Munich.
So far, only assets such as yachts have been confiscated.
According to Leiding, the three apartments are in Munich, and monthly rental payments of around 3,500 euros are currently being received in the account.
She did not want to provide any further details on the location or size of the property, even when asked - the tenants living in the apartments had no connection to the Russians through the tenancy and should be protected in this way.
No more access to the apartments or the account
As a result of the confiscation, which was not previously announced to the couple, the couple now no longer have any access to the apartments or the account, i.e. any "economic use of their property," emphasized Leiding.
Almost four weeks ago, the Ministry of Finance informed the public prosecutor's office that the people were on the sanctions list.
Nothing will change for the tenants as a result of the campaign, they will no longer transfer the rents to the owners, but to the Munich District Court.
According to the legal opinion of the public prosecutor's office, confiscation is possible under the Foreign Trade Act, since one of the accused is a member of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
His wife with registered residence in Munich is also accused.
Whether she is currently in Munich was left open by Leiding, as was the question of similar cases involving other Russian citizens.
Imprisonment of up to five years possible
The deputy has been on the list of sanctioned persons since February 23.
At the time, he voted in the Russian parliament for a resolution calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to recognize the areas of eastern Ukraine claimed by the separatists, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, as independent states.
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The investigations against the couple would continue, according to the Foreign Trade Act, prison sentences of up to five years are possible for each violation.
In this case, it is the continued economic use of the apartments despite the sanctions.
dpa