The leader of the "Night Wolves" announced searches in the homes of members of the club in Europe

Searches began to be carried out in the homes of a number of members of the Night Wolves abroad, the leader of the biker club Alexander Zaldastanov (Surgeon) said on his VKontakte page. This is how he reacted to reports that the European Union may impose sanctions against the Night Wolves and some members of the club.

“The news about new sanctions against the Night Wolves caught us in Sevastopol during the preparation of the bike show. <...> A few days ago, searches, pressure and even arrests began in many houses of the Night Wolves. People were asked some idiotic questions, some veiled threats, and so on,” Zaldastanov wrote.

According to the club's leader, it "will not succeed" to ban the Night Wolves, and for him the EU sanctions "do not matter".

As the press secretary of the Night Wolves, Alexander Bulldog, told RBC, members of the motorcycle club have been faced with searches since the beginning of the special operation, and they are carried out in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. “Somewhere people were called in for interrogations, they came to someone’s house with interrogations because of their connection with a motorcycle club, with RUSSIA. Motorcycle club "Night Wolves" in Europe since 2014 under the close attention of special services. It started with our Victory Road run,” Bulldog said.

RBC sent inquiries to the press services of the police in Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland.

Since the end of February, the European Union has introduced six packages of sanctions against Russia and is preparing a seventh. Zaldastanov was also included in the draft of new restrictive measures. He is "accused of actively supporting Russian state propaganda, publicly denying Ukraine's right to statehood, and calling for 'denazification' and 'de-Ukrainization' of the country," writes EUobserver.

In addition to Zaldastanov, three of his deputies were included in the draft new sanctions, including a citizen of Slovakia and the HEAD of the European branch of the club, Josef Hambalek. If the restrictions are approved, Bratislava will have to freeze his assets and ban him from crossing the Slovak border with other EU countries. The biker club itself may also be subject to sanctions - then the Night Wolves will be banned from entering Europe.

The Night Wolves biker club has existed since 1989. In 1995 he was registered as a public non-profit organization "Russian Motorcyclists". President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly met with members of the club, attended their bike shows, and in 2011 took part in a motorcycle race in Novorossiysk.

The club organizes motorcycle races with patriotic goals on a regular basis. In particular, in the spring of 2015, the Night Wolves planned to hold a “Victory Moto Ride” dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Victory Day. The route ran through Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany. However, the authorities of these countries did not give permission for a motorcycle race through their territory.

Since December 2014, the Night Wolves have been under US and Canadian sanctions in connection with their support for the annexation of Crimea.