Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday signed a law allowing authorities to seize assets of people convicted of speaking out against the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, it has imposed tough laws banning criticism of it and cracking down on those who publicly oppose it.
The law enables authorities to confiscate the money, property and valuables of people found guilty of making objectionable comments. The law potentially targets significant Russian exiles who have fled their country but still have property at home.
Putin signed the document two weeks after Russia’s parliament, the Duma, endorsed the bill. Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said last month that the law “targets scoundrels and traitors who have betrayed their motherland and are now spitting on the backs of our soldiers.”
Moscow regularly labels millions of Russians who flee their country in protest of military operations as traitors. The law comes into effect in the second year of the Ukraine invasion and a month before Russia’s presidential election.