State Duma to Decide Fate of Interpol-Wanted Cars

The government has submitted a bill to the State Duma regulating the handling of cars listed as stolen in the Interpol database. Currently, such vehicles cannot be registered with the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate (GIBDD), leaving their owners in legal limbo.

The problem arose after the international police organization imposed a boycott on Russia in March 2022, banning direct interaction between law enforcement agencies. As a result, thousands of car owners who had legally imported vehicles into the country found that their cars were later declared wanted by foreign owners. The GIBDD complied with Interpol’s directives, but foreign police refused to respond to requests from their Russian counterparts.

An example is the case of Danila, a resident of St. Petersburg, who bought a Dodge Ram pickup truck in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) in 2023. When he tried to sell the car in Russia, it turned out that it was listed as wanted in Canada, and had been stolen almost six months before the sale, with its entry in the Interpol database appearing seven months later. The GIBDD refused registration, and the police found no grounds for a criminal theft case in Russia. The owner then filed a lawsuit to have the car removed from the blacklist. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) sent a request to Canada but received no response. The court recognized the plaintiff as a bona fide purchaser and pointed to Interpol’s «sanctions»: «The introduction by a foreign state in this manner of a regime that is essentially an unlawful restriction of the owner’s rights to use their property essentially diminishes the institution of respect for private property guaranteed by the Russian Constitution and international legal norms.» The appellate court upheld this decision, noting that «the information placed in the GIBDD’s accounting databases about the wanted status of the applicant’s vehicle via Interpol is based on unconfirmed data regarding the fact of theft of this vehicle in Canada.»

One former head of St. Petersburg’s vehicle registration system explained that the problem with Interpol databases arose recently. According to him, automatic interaction with foreign police began only in late 2023, when Interpol was connected to the FIS-M system. Before that, checks were carried out in semi-manual mode and only identified cars stolen long ago. However, in early summer 2026, foreign colleagues completely stopped responding to requests, making it impossible to remove vehicles from the wanted list.

The Supreme Court of Russia, after reviewing the MVD’s complaint, overturned the decisions in favor of the St. Petersburg resident. The court stated that the Russian police «do not have the technical capability to edit or delete information about the international search for vehicles placed in Interpol’s databases by foreign law enforcement agencies.» «The court’s conclusion about the good-faith ownership of the car has no legal significance and is not grounds for canceling the public-legal records of the wanted status,» the highest judicial instance noted. The pickup remained with the owner, but can only be used off public roads.

According to Andrei Lugovoy, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security, about six thousand cars legally purchased by Russians are on Interpol’s wanted list. He also mentioned a «Canadian-Emirati scheme» where cars, allegedly stolen in Canada, are bought new in the UAE and cleared through customs in EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union) countries.

The Russian MVD acknowledges the scale of the problem: based on Germany’s claims alone, 123 vehicles have been found in the country, but German police are avoiding cooperation. Many vehicles are listed as wanted at the initiative of Ukraine. The ministry notes that only the country that initiated the search can delete information from the Interpol General Secretariat’s database, and the lack of responses prevents objective decisions.

To resolve the situation, the MVD prepared a bill that gives it the authority to determine «the specifics of registration actions for vehicles on the international wanted list.» On 17 July, the document, approved by the government, was submitted to the State Duma.

Ratmir Pliev, head of the law firm «Yuridika,» warns: «Any, even the most thorough check of a foreign car before purchase, including obtaining a notarized statement about the absence of restrictions and prohibitions, cannot protect a potential buyer from subsequent Interpol inquiries. The proposed bill only partially solves the problem. Until the search period expires, it will be impossible to drive the car outside Russia. Moreover, if the country that initiated the search confirms the theft, the registration in Russia may be canceled and the vehicle confiscated.»