According to the decision of the prosecutor's office of Hamburg, where the case was considered, the German customs will return the car with the number of the Russian Federation to Russian citizen Ivan Koval, which was previously confiscated due to sanctions that could be misinterpreted. This was reported to Deutsche Welle by the owner himself.
According to Koval, the case is closed. The reasons for the decision are not explained in the customs notice held by DW.
Previously, DW reported on more than 10 episodes of arrests of cars with Russian numbers. Some of the Russians were transiting through German territory, they were stopped at border crossing points or on the autobahn. The German customs said that the cars of Russian citizens entering Germany would be arrested, the answer was published by RBC. According to customs, this is due to sanctions and a ban on the import of transport into the country, including personal, from the Russian Federation. Then the customs claimed that the import of passenger cars from Russia to the European Union is prohibited, and the concept of "import" includes any movement of goods, including travel by personal transport.
However, lawyers DW spoke with stated that the reason for the seizure of personal property in Germany was an incorrect interpretation of the law. Thus, the lawyer from Frankfurt am Main, Serge Beck, and the lawyer from Bonn, Alexander Lissem, agreed in a legal opinion that the official position of the German customs is "too broad and therefore contrary to the law."