Russia May Grant Legal Registration to Smuggled Cars Stolen Across Europe

Russia’s traffic police could soon gain the authority to register vehicles that are listed as internationally wanted at the request of so-called “unfriendly” countries but were imported into Russia and purchased by Russian citizens, according to a draft law proposed by the Interior Ministry and published on the government’s regulatory portal.

Officials say the measure is intended to “protect the legitimate interests of Russian citizens,” Russian media The Moscow Times reported on February 6.

The proposal would change existing rules that currently prohibit the registration of any vehicle declared wanted, regardless of how it was obtained.

The ministry argues that following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, foreign law enforcement agencies stopped responding to Russian inquiries. As a result, authorities claim it is no longer possible to reliably confirm whether a vehicle was stolen or under what circumstances it was placed on international search lists.

Germany is cited as an example. According to the Interior Ministry, Berlin had not responded to requests concerning 123 vehicles discovered inside Russia that were listed as internationally wanted as of January 19, 2026. Officials also allege that Ukraine has placed some vehicles on international search lists “wrongfully and without justification.”

The explanatory note attached to the draft law emphasizes that only the country that initiated the search can remove a vehicle from international databases.

Because of this, the ministry says Russia currently lacks a legal framework capable of “protecting the interests of Russian citizens” who own such vehicles. The proposal would give registration authorities the power to independently determine how registration procedures should be handled in these cases.

Separate reporting by the Russian newspaper Izvestia in November 2025, citing a source in the automotive security sector, described a scheme used to legalize cars stolen in Europe.

According to that report, vehicles are transported through Russian-occupied territories in eastern Ukraine, where simplified registration procedures apply. After being registered under a proxy owner, the cars are moved deeper into Russia—such as to Rostov-on-Don—and re-registered to their actual buyers, effectively creating a “clean” record in Russian databases.

Valentin Stanovov, a retired police colonel and expert on organized crime, previously warned that Russia’s cooperation with Interpol has been severely disrupted since the start of the full-scale war. He said a large number of stolen vehicles could trigger alerts in international databases once cooperation resumes, potentially leaving hundreds of buyers without either their cars or their money.

Earlier, reports emerged that thousands of foreign-made cars brought into Russia under parallel import schemes have ended up flagged as stolen in Interpol’s international database.

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