Golden acres: lands confiscated from corrupt officials will be sold
In Russia, they want to put up for sale land plots confiscated from corrupt officials. The relevant bill may pass the first reading as early as May, Izvestia found out. The initiative received positive feedback from the Cabinet of Ministers and found support in most regions. Since 2020, more than 2 thousand land plots with an area of 581.3 hectares and a total cadastral value of more than 2.7 billion rubles have not been sold in the Moscow Region alone. On April 22, deputies adopted in the first reading a similar bill allowing the sale of confiscated housing by corrupt officials.
Why did they decide to sell the confiscated lands
In May, the State Duma may adopt in the first reading a bill authorizing the sale of land seized from corrupt officials. This follows from the documents reviewed by Izvestia. The information was also confirmed to Izvestia by the Duma Committee on Property, Land and Property Relations.
The draft law "On Amendments to the Land Code of the Russian Federation" was submitted to the State Duma in February this year. The document introduces amendments that exclude clause 2 of Article 39.1 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation. Currently, this rule prohibits the sale of state-owned or municipal land plots if their main permitted use involves the construction of buildings and structures. The document was developed after the Accounting Chamber's report on the results of the control event "Audit of accounting and disposal of property transferred to the income of the Russian Federation."
— The Committee recommended that the bill be adopted in the first reading. Its goal is very practical: in the Moscow Region alone, since 2020, it has not been possible to realize more than 2 thousand plots with an area of 581.3 hectares and a cadastral value of more than 2.7 billion rubles. This is land that was confiscated in corruption cases and turned into state revenue, suitable for cottage and country house construction. However, instead of turnover, it has been on the balance sheet for years," Sergei Gavrilov, head of the relevant committee, told Izvestia.
According to him, after the lifting of the current ban, such land plots will be put up for auction. For the budget, this means additional revenue, which is currently unavailable, as well as a reduction in property maintenance costs. For citizens and businesses, this, in turn, will create a legal mechanism for acquiring land from a public owner at a market price instead of waiting a long time for land to be put into circulation, the deputy stressed.
He also said that the bill will be finalized for the second reading, taking into account the comments of the government, which gave a positive response to the initiative, subject to amendments.
— The Cabinet of Ministers proposed to maintain the ban on federal land that is not subject to confiscation, so that its turnover goes through the mechanism of the law on assistance to housing construction. By the second reading, such an amendment is highly likely to be adopted, and it is in this version that it will become a working tool," said Sergey Gavrilov.
According to Alexey Kornienko, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Property, the bill may be adopted in final reading before the end of the spring session, which will last until July 19. The land should work and bring income to the owner, and taxes to the state, the deputy emphasized.
He noted that the initiative received support in most regions, and was also approved by a number of departments, to which it was sent for review and review.
On April 22, the State Duma also adopted in the first reading a bill simplifying the sale of real estate converted into state revenue on anti-corruption grounds. The current article 30.4 of the law "On the Privatization of State and Municipal Property" allows the sale of confiscated apartments only if their market price is at least twice the estimated. The latter is determined by a simple formula: the area of housing is multiplied by the average cost per square meter in the region according to Rosstat.
The document cancels the requirement to double the cost, which will allow a larger number of objects to be put up for auction, including cheaper confiscated apartments. In addition, the initiative provides for the abolition of the rule according to which repeated auctions could be held only six months after the previous ones were declared invalid.
How much of the confiscated property is on the balance sheet of the state
According to the conclusions of the Accounting Chamber, based on the results of an audit of the management of confiscated property, its use remains insufficiently effective. As of July 1, 2025, no more than 8% of such property was involved in economic turnover. At the same time, almost 9 thousand objects with a total value of over 113 billion rubles became state property.
The Control Agency also pointed out a number of systemic problems and regulatory constraints that make effective management difficult. In particular, the procedure for transferring property from the Federal Bailiff Service to the Federal Property Management Agency is insufficiently regulated. This leads to negative consequences, including cases of registration of non-existent facilities and an increase in the time required to involve assets in economic turnover.
In addition, the Federal Property Management Agency does not have a unified practice of accepting, accounting in the treasury of the Russian Federation and registering the right of federal ownership of corrupt property, resulting in the risks of its loss. The Accounting Chamber also pointed to the problem of selling objects seized from corrupt officials.
— Of course, it was necessary to adopt bills a long time ago that allow and simplify the sale of such property, since its maintenance is very expensive for the state. After all, some facilities require the consumption of electricity and other utilities. If we talk about land plots, they also require maintenance," Georgy Ostapkovich, scientific director of the HSE Center for Market Research, told Izvestia.
According to him, in the current economic conditions, it is logical to expect prompt consideration and adoption of such bills in parliament.
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