Latvia Preparing To Confiscate Cars Bearing Russian License Plates To Hand Them Over To Ukraine

The Saeima adopted amendments to the law in the first reading.

Latvia has taken a serious step towards starting the confiscation of cars with Russian registration, and their subsequent transfer to Ukraine. The corresponding legislative amendments were adopted in the first reading by the Parliament of Latvia.

This is stated in a message from the Latvian parliament. “Amendments to the Road Traffic Law provide for the confiscation of vehicles registered in Russia if they are not registered in Latvia within the period established by law,” the message states.

It will be a period of three months from the date of entry into force of the amendments. In addition, if the vehicle is seized, car owners will be fined from 750 to 2,000 euros.

It is planned that the amendments will be finally adopted and come into force in mid-November. That is, the confiscation of Russian cars in Latvia may begin in mid-February.

Cars with Russian license plates will be able to participate in traffic in Latvia only in transit for 24 hours. At the same time, an owner of a car with Russian registration when entering the country will have to provide information about the vehicle and its driver in a special electronic system.

It is expected that the confiscated vehicles will be transferred to Ukraine, the authors of the bill report.

It is important to note that cars with Russian license plates can no longer enter Latvia. Similar decisions were made in all EU countries that border the Russian Federation, as well as in Norway, through which Russians imported their cars in a roundabout way.