Russia may soon allow people to legally register vehicles stolen in the EU and brought into the country. Lawmakers there have been discussing legislative changes proposed by the Russian Interior Ministry since early February.
The scheme has sparked fears in Germany that the new law could lead to a huge increase in the number of stolen cars.
Legislative changes on Putin’s instructions
Moscow based daily newspaper Kommersant It was reported that the Russian Interior Ministry has prepared a draft bill on the instructions of President Vladimir Putin. The aim is to protect the interests of car owners whose vehicles have been “listed as wanted on the initiative of hostile states”, the ministry said in a press release.
Apart from the 27 EU member states, Russia, Switzerland, Norway, the US, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Australia are counted among such states.
The bill would also legalize vehicles that Ukraine has declared missing. Obviously, these are cars that were transported to the occupied Ukrainian territories.
Russia: No reaction from Germany on inquiry
Currently, registration of vehicles subject to international search warrants is prohibited in Russia. However, according to Kommersant In the report, the Interior Ministry said it is often impossible for Russian authorities to determine why a vehicle would be included in this database.
The ministry said that since the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine, officials of “hostile states” have not responded to Russian requests to provide information on such vehicles.
Germany is explicitly cited as an example: the Interior Ministry in Moscow claims that Berlin ignores such requests from Moscow “for political reasons”. According to the ministry, a total of 123 vehicles that Berlin had declared internationally wanted were located in Russia in January 2026. However, German officials did not provide any information to Moscow about the reasons for the search warrant.
BKA: no data exchange with Russia
Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), which is responsible for investigating car thefts, confirmed to DW that there is currently no exchange of information with Russia in such cases.
“The BKA is aware of the inquiries from the Russian authorities regarding the vehicles listed by Germany. However, as these relate primarily to civil law issues (ownership and interest of the owner in repatriation), the BKA has no jurisdiction,” the agency said.
The BKA declined to comment on whether the new Russian law could lead to an increase in car thefts in Germany. The 123 German cars listed by Russia as subject to an international search in January represent only a fraction of the actual number of vehicles stolen in Germany. According to the BKA, 30,373 vehicles were stolen in Germany in 2024. Only 8,858 cases (just under 30%) were successfully resolved.
Police union: Russia is promoting crime
Benjamin Gendro, a spokesman for the Berlin-based police union GDP, confirmed to DW that there are currently “no intensive official exchanges on multiple levels” with Russia. “To our knowledge, there have certainly been cases in the past where Russian authorities have come forward and the vehicles that were being searched were recovered there,” he said.
“However, one can imagine that, at this time, any officials from Germany are unlikely to travel to Russia to recover a stolen vehicle, especially since insurance claims have already been settled by the time the vehicle is found,” Gendro said.
He described the new draft law as a “destructive sign” that “encourages crime.” A GDP spokesperson said, “We have had stable vehicle theft figures for years – at very high levels. Such legislation would further weaken the fight of security authorities against international car-smuggling gangs.”
“For years, we have seen cars stolen, driven to Eastern Europe and promptly destroyed there because companies have massively upgraded their anti-theft measures by installing GPS trackers,” he said. “But there are also a number of vehicles that are essentially stolen following the shopping list and very quickly end up in countries where we can no longer access them.”
Russian expert: Large-scale insurance fraud?
Some Russian experts point to another aspect of the issue. Alexander Kholodov of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation (OPRF) claimed in an interview with the Russian news portal car news The amended law may facilitate fraudulent schemes.
“This was already the case in the 1990s and early 2000s. It involved so-called staged theft: the car is sold in Germany, ends up in Russia, and only a month later the owner reports that the vehicle is missing. He then also receives compensation from the insurance company in Germany,” Kholodov said. Members of the Public Chamber are appointed by the Russian President and are tasked with holding public hearings on socially relevant draft legislation.
Russian lawyer Sergei Smirnov agreed to this in an interview. “The new law allows people living outside Russia to intensify their activities in the field of insurance fraud abroad. Cars are stolen in Europe, victims receive insurance payouts, then the vehicles are illegally transported to Russia and legalized through registration there,” Smirnov said. car news.
But the German Insurance Association (GDV) told DW that such fraud schemes are not actually widespread. “We have no knowledge of the scheme described and, moreover, we believe that the majority of vehicle theft cases are genuine thefts and not fabrications,” GDV said. The association also said that it does not expect that the change in the legal situation in Russia will lead to a significant increase in vehicle theft in Germany.
This article was translated from German.