Russian upper house approves bill to confiscate assets of people discrediting army, to become law after Putin's nod

Russia’s upper house on Wednesday unanimously endorsed a bill that would allow authorities to confiscate money, valuables and other assets from people convicted of spreading “deliberately false information” about the country’s military.

Having been swiftly approved by the lower house last week, the bill is anticipated to be signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin soon.

The speaker of the lower house, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that the proposed measure aims to toughen penalties for those he deems as “traitors” who defame the nation and its military, intending to deprive them of honors, assets, money, and other valuables.

Russian authorities have leveraged the current law targeting the “discrediting” of the military, encompassing acts like”justifying terrorism” and disseminating “fake news” about the armed forces, to silence critics of Putin. Numerous activists, bloggers, and ordinary citizens in Russia have faced lengthy prison sentences as a result.

Under the new confiscation law, individuals convicted of inciting extremist activities publicly and advocating actions detrimental to state security or tarnishing the armed forces would be subject to its provisions.

The criminalisation of discrediting the Russian military was established through legislation as part of a broad government crackdown on dissent following the deployment of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Notably, the bill excludes real estate from the assets liable to seizure. In the Soviet era, draconian legislation permitted the confiscation of housing for various criminal offenses.

With inputs from agencies