The first Russian returned the car confiscated in Germany

Russian Ivan Koval, who lives in Germany, told Fontanka that the German customs agreed to return the car seized due to sanctions to him. This is the first such case, the newspaper notes.

Koval previously told RBC that his car was taken away on June 1 near his house in Hamburg. The customs officer checked his documents and found no violations in them, but the car was arrested anyway, because “from October 2022, the entry of cars with Russian numbers into the EU is prohibited.” The Russian clarified that, as he was told, the ban applies to everyone - "the military, not the military, it doesn't matter." He filed a complaint with the customs, the agency forwarded the appeal to the Hamburg prosecutor's office.

According to Koval, on July 13, the lawyer received a letter from the Hamburg customs that the prosecutor's office had allowed the seized Audi Q3 to be taken away. Fontanka published a copy of the message. “There is no justification. Tomorrow morning I’ll go pick it up, ”said the Russian .

The first cases of confiscation of cars with Russian numbers began in Germany at the end of May. The German customs told RBC that any import of cars into Germany from RUSSIA, even entry by personal transport, would be regarded as grounds for his arrest. The Office referred to the EU Council Regulation of 31 July 2014. Article 3i of the regulation (in English) states that “the acquisition, import or transfer, directly or indirectly, of goods that generate significant income for Russia”, listed in Annex XXI (which includes cars), is prohibited if they are of Russian origin or exported From Russia. In German, the translation uses the term Einfuhr, which can mean a simple import.

The Russian embassy then recommended not to enter Germany in cars with Russian numbers. As stated in the diplomatic mission, the German authorities do not take into account the arguments that "we are not talking about goods intended for sale, but about private property used for personal purposes."