The Russian government has submitted a bill to the State Duma that would allow the registration of vehicles listed in Interpol's international wanted database, primarily those sought by 'unfriendly' countries. The document would give the Interior Ministry the authority to establish a special procedure for registering such vehicles.

Current law prohibits registering cars that appear in the Interpol database. The bill's authors note that owners of such vehicles are forced to go to court — but even if they win their case, only the country that initiated the search can remove the car from the wanted list. As a result, people cannot legally use their property.

The bill was drafted on the instructions of President Vladimir Putin, according to the explanatory note. Its goal is 'protecting the legitimate interests of persons who possess vehicles sought at the initiative of unfriendly states.'

The Interior Ministry has explained that since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, Western countries have virtually stopped responding to Russian requests regarding such cars. Because of this, police cannot reliably determine whether a vehicle was stolen or under what circumstances. As an example, the ministry cited Germany: as of January 19, 2026, 123 cars wanted through Interpol at Germany's initiative remain on the wanted list, and German law enforcement does not respond to requests 'for political reasons.'

Since 2022, about 1,500 foreign cars declared internationally wanted have been found in Russia. The problem worsened after Western automakers left Russia and parallel imports were legalized. As Autonews reported, fraudsters leased popular foreign cars (Toyota, BMW, Mercedes-Benz) in Europe, resold them to Russia through third countries — such as the UAE — and then stopped payments. Leasing companies declared the cars wanted. New owners often only learned about this when trying to register the car with the traffic police.

Earlier, Izvestia reported on a scheme to legalize cars stolen in Europe: they are brought in through occupied territories of Ukraine, where simplified registration procedures apply, then driven to Russia and registered to the actual owner.

The bill was presented for discussion in February 2026.