Page 35 - RusRPTOct23

The sanctions clarifications of the European Commission, obliging EU countries to confiscate personal belongings from arriving Russians on September 11, have caused numerous disputes. The application of draconian rules will depend on the authorities of specific countries - and today it has begun to take concrete forms. Lithuania and Latvia announced an entry ban for cars with Russian license plates, and Germany warned that its customs officers could seize any personal items on the list from Russians.
EU to cease sanctions against 3 Russian businessmen. Those are Grigory Berezkin, the chairman of one of Russia's largest holding companies, ESN Group, billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov, and the former head of the Russian e-commerce firm Ozon, Alexander Shulgin.
Orban: Hungary to only support Ukraine if it restores minority laws. The rights of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine must be restored before Budapest supports Kyiv in international affairs, Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed in a speech to Hungary's parliament on Sept. 25.
Russia seeks to rejoin UN Human Rights Council. Russia seeks to rejoin the UN Human Rights Council after being expelled last year because of its invasion of Ukraine, the BBC reported on Sept. 26, citing a position paper distributed by Russian diplomats to UN members.
EU extends protection for Ukrainian refugees until 2025. "The EU will support the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes," Spanish acting Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gomez said. "The prolongation of the protection status offers certainty to the more than 4 million refugees who have found a safe haven in the EU."
● Domestic Politics
Official statistics from the Prosecutor General's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs showed an increase in economic crimes, business ombudsman Boris Titov found out. We are talking about the most common “entrepreneurial” articles of the Criminal Code 159 “Fraud”, 160 “Embezzlement”, 165 “Causing property damage by deception or abuse of trust” and the entire 22nd chapter of the Criminal Code, dedicated to economic crimes.
The number of cases in proceedings under the listed articles in the first half of 2023 increased by 15%, to 352 thousand. Of these, 240 thousand (+21%) were newly registered cases.
The most widespread article 159 accounted for significantly more than half of all cases (287 thousand, + 22%) and two thirds of newly registered ones (152 thousand, + 30%). The number of registered cases under this article has been
35 RUSSIA Country Report October 2023 www.intellinews.com