Latvia has prepared amendments for the confiscation of cars from Russia

The Latvian Ministry of Justice will submit a bill to the Sejm (parliament) that would ban the presence of cars with Russian and Belarusian license plates in the country, the department said in a statement.

If the amendments are adopted, owners of such cars will be required to re-register them in Latvia within three months, otherwise sanctions will follow , “including confiscation of the vehicle,” explains the Ministry of Justice.

“Crossing the border of the European Union with a vehicle registered in RUSSIA, and therefore staying in Latvia, is a violation of sanctions,” said Justice Minister Inese Libiņa-Egnere.

If the cars are not re-registered in a timely manner, they may be confiscated, including in favor of Ukraine, the minister threatened. For those who want to continue moving around Latvia, she advised them to either re-register their car, or walk or take public transport.

The Ministry of Justice motivates the preparation of changes in legislation with explanations from the European Commission regarding the sanctions against Russia introduced last year. it follows from them that the decision on how to apply restrictive measures remains with the EU member states , the department draws attention. Taking into account the fact that sanctions were also imposed against Belarus, the measures planned by Latvia will also affect cars with Belarusian license plates, the Ministry of Justice concluded.