It is said to be the first case of this kind in Germany: the Munich I public prosecutor’s office has confiscated real estate belonging to a Russian who is on the EU sanctions list. That happens with the tenants of the apartments.
There are three apartments in total. The Munich public prosecutor’s office has confiscated several properties in the Bavarian capital. They are said to belong to a Russian who is on the EU sanctions list and his wife. A judge had previously decided the measure.
“According to the current state of knowledge, this is the first case nationwide in which not only assets were ‘frozen’ due to the sanctions, but real estate was actually confiscated,” said the investigators in a statement on Monday. The entry in the land register had already been changed accordingly.
Three apartments of a couple from Russia confiscated
The couple earned 3,500 euros a month from renting and leasing the apartments, it said. Two apartments belonged to the two together, a third only to the woman who is registered in Munich. “As a wife (…) in the present case (…) she is a person associated with the sanctioned accused and is therefore subject to sanctions herself,” explained public prosecutor Anne Leiding. The bank account for the rent payments was also confiscated.
The Russian is said to be a member of the State Duma, the parliament of the Russian Federation. His name ended up on the EU’s sanctions list on February 23, shortly before Russia’s illegal attack on Ukraine – along with hundreds of other MPs. At the time, those affected had voted in favor of President Vladimir Putin recognizing the Ukrainian territories of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states. Shortly after Putin’s signature, Russian troops invaded the neighboring country.
In the case of the confiscation of the three apartments, the Munich I public prosecutor’s office specifically accuses the two accused of violating the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (imprisonment from three months to five years). Accordingly, he is said to have disregarded the ban on services imposed by the EU. The investigations against the Russians are ongoing, and a special commission from the Federal Criminal Police Office is also involved. Both suspects are presumed innocent pending conviction.
According to the public prosecutor, the affected tenants of the three apartments in Munich can continue to live there. From now on they have to pay their rent to the district court.
It is not known how many properties in Germany are in the hands of sanctioned Russians. Numerous investigations are still ongoing at the Federal Criminal Police Office.
Sources: , , news agencies DPA and AFP
Source: Stern
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