In Russia, they offered to refund money for the services of realtors in case of fraud.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB and the Prosecutor General's Office proposed to fix a mechanism that allows returning money for the services of realtors if the court subsequently invalidates the real estate transaction. This was reported on August 6 by the newspaper Vedomosti with reference to materials for the third package of measures to combat cyberbullying.

The Prosecutor General's Office explained that the initiative is related to the evolution of fraud schemes: after tightening control over banking transactions, attackers increasingly began to use mechanisms for the illegal alienation of housing. There is no final decision on the proposal yet — the agency is waiting for the Rosreestr report.

Rosreestr, in turn, opposes the inclusion of this norm in the anti-fraud package. They recalled that the issue had already been raised during the discussion of the second package, but then it was postponed for a separate study, since the agency did not see any grounds for special regulation of the real estate services market.

The Ministry of Finance also did not support the initiative, pointing out that fraud in the real estate sector does not directly relate to crimes in the field of ICT, against which the bill is aimed. The ministry added that the third package of measures is still under discussion.

Certify and verify: individuals want to conduct housing transactions through a notary

The measure is aimed at protecting citizens' rights and reducing the risk of fraud in the market.

Maxim Peshkov, a lawyer and expert at the Foundation for the Support of Citizens Affected by Crimes, said on April 24 that current legislation does not always protect bona fide home buyers and needs to be improved. According to the expert, in practice, responsibility is often shifted to the buyer, even if he has taken all possible measures to verify the transaction. We are talking about cases when documents, medical certificates are checked, as well as banks, mortgage mechanisms and notaries are involved.