The Ministry of Economic Development has proposed selling apartments confiscated from corrupt officials at auction. Now they should be given away for free to those on the waiting list

The Ministry of Economic Development has prepared a bill that allows for the auctioning of real estate that has not been declared by officials and seized from persons involved in corruption cases. The document , which was brought to the attention of RBC, is posted on the portal of draft regulatory acts.

According to current laws, real estate seized in favor of the state can only be given away free of charge for social and state needs.

Often, the explanatory note says, we are talking about elite housing, which “is not practical to transfer to low-income citizens in need of better housing conditions, due to the significant funds required to maintain such residential premises.”

It is expected that the amendments allowing the sale of such real estate at auction will come into force in December 2020. The government will determine which apartments will be sold at auction after the amendments come into force.

• The explanatory note of the Ministry of Economic Development states that from 2015 to mid-2019, 49 residential premises were confiscated from defendants in corruption cases, the total cadastral value of which exceeds 1 billion rubles. In particular, 11 apartments were confiscated from former Interior Ministry Colonel Dmitry Zakharchenko and his relatives, RBK recalls.