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Putin signs law on confiscation of property for disseminating fake news about Russian army

The law specifies that this involves crimes committed for personal gain

© Mikhail Klimentyev/ press Service of the President of the Russian Federation/ TASS

MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new law that calls for the confiscation of property as punishment for disseminating fake news about Russia’s armed forces as well as committing crimes detrimental to national security.

The text of the law has been published on the government’s official website for legal information.

The law amends the relevant Russian Criminal Code (RCC) provisions and expands the list of crimes punishable by means of the confiscation of property. The list will now include crimes under RCC Article 207.3 ("Public Dissemination of Patently False Information about the Use of the Russian Armed Forces or about Russian State Bodies Exercising Their Authority") and Article 280.4 ("Public Calls to Carry Out Activities Directed Against State Security"). The law specifies that this involves crimes committed for personal gain.

However, according to the document, even if someone is convicted under the aforementioned articles, not all of their money, assets and property would be subject to confiscation, but only those gained through criminal means or used for activities aimed against Russia’s national security.

The law says that activities aimed against Russia’s national security pertain to the commission of at least one crime described in the RCC articles covering mercenary activities, genocide, desertion from military service, insubordination, bribe-giving and bribe-taking, and racketeering. The list includes over 30 RCC articles in total.

In addition, the law expands the list of RCC articles that provide for stripping convicted individuals of special, military and honorary titles, ranks and state awards. These articles address, in particular, the dissemination of fake news about the Russian army; discrediting the army; making calls for extremism; violations of Russia’s territorial integrity; activities aimed against national security; calls for imposing sanctions on Russia and Russian nationals; rehabilitating Nazism; and assisting in the implementation of decisions made by international organizations of which Russia is not a member, as well as by foreign government agencies.

The law will take effect ten days after its official publication.

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