Search of Premises in Russia: What to Do

A search rarely begins at a convenient moment. There is usually no quiet half-hour in which to read the Criminal Procedure Code, call a lawyer and decide how everybody in the property should behave. Instead, there is a knock at the door, several officials outside, identification documents and a procedural decision that has to be read while everything else is happening at the same time. The person inside is trying to understand why the search is taking place, contact a lawyer, watch where officers are going, reassure family members and remember what is being removed.

At that point people often make one of two mistakes. Some begin arguing over every action, moving documents, trying to take devices away from officers or deleting information. Others decide that nothing they do matters any more and stop paying attention altogether. Neither approach helps.

In short: do not physically obstruct the search. Check who is conducting it and read the procedural document presented to you. Contact a lawyer as early as possible. Do not conceal, destroy or alter documents, property or data. Pay attention to what is removed and read the search protocol carefully before signing it.

What authorises a search of premises in Russia?

A search may be conducted where there are sufficient grounds to believe that objects, documents, valuables or other material relevant to a criminal case may be located in a particular place or with a particular person. The main rules governing searches are contained in Article 182 of the Russian Criminal Procedure Code.

A search of a dwelling normally requires prior court authorisation. Before the search begins, the relevant procedural document must be presented. Check the address, the type of investigative action, the authority conducting it and the basic details of the case.

Russian law also allows an urgent search of a dwelling without prior judicial authorisation where the situation cannot reasonably be delayed. This procedure is governed by Article 165 of the Criminal Procedure Code, and the legality of the search is reviewed afterwards.

A search may take place at premises belonging to somebody who is not a suspect at all. Investigators may attend the home or office of a relative, accountant, business counterparty or former partner if there are sufficient grounds to believe that relevant material is located there.

The person whose premises are being searched is entitled to be present. In the case of a dwelling, the procedure also provides for the presence of an adult family member. This matters because somebody should be able to see where an item was found, how it was handled and how it was later described in the written record.

Before beginning the search, the investigator may invite the person to surrender voluntarily the objects, documents or valuables being sought. Voluntary surrender does not necessarily mean that the search must end if there remains reason to believe that other relevant material is present.

What to do during a search in Russia

The most difficult part of a search is often the sudden loss of control over your own space. That feeling can make people behave in ways they would normally recognise as unhelpful. They begin moving documents, closing rooms, trying to take phones away from officers or deleting information. Others simply sit down and stop following what is happening.

Do not physically obstruct a lawful search and do not destroy, conceal or alter information. At the same time, continue watching the procedure as closely as circumstances allow. Notice who is present, which rooms are searched, where an item is found and what is actually removed.

Investigators may open locked areas where necessary, although unnecessary damage should be avoided. Those present may also be prevented from leaving the premises or communicating with other people until the search has been completed.

A lawyer may be present during the search. If counsel is not already there, make contact as early as possible and inform the investigator that legal assistance has been requested. Calling a lawyer does not necessarily mean that the search must stop until counsel arrives, so waiting until the final protocol is being prepared makes little sense.

If officers begin asking detailed questions about transactions, money, messages, documents or relationships with other people, the search should not quietly turn into an improvised Questioning in a Russian Criminal Case. Telling an officer where a key is kept is not the same as giving substantive evidence about the alleged offence.

Russian law also protects a person from being compelled to give evidence against themselves, their spouse or close relatives. Before giving substantive explanations about the criminal case, it is sensible to establish your procedural position and discuss it with a lawyer. More information about my work in this area is available on the Russian Criminal Defence Lawyer page.

Attesting witnesses and personal searches

Russian criminal procedure uses attesting witnesses, a concept that may be unfamiliar to somebody used to a common-law system. Where their participation is required, at least two disinterested persons who are not members of the investigative team observe the procedure and certify the fact, course and results of the investigative action.

Where an item was found, what was opened and what was removed may later matter, so their participation should not be treated as a decorative formality. Russian law also provides for situations in which investigative actions may proceed without attesting witnesses subject to the applicable procedural rules for recording what occurred.

A search of premises can also lead to a personal search of somebody who is present. Article 184 of the Criminal Procedure Code allows this where there are grounds to believe that the person is concealing objects or documents relevant to the criminal case. The fact that investigators came to search a flat or office does not mean that no procedural action can be taken in relation to the people inside it.

Phones, computers and electronic information

A modern phone may contain more information about a person’s life than a cupboard full of papers. Messages, photographs, banking information, contacts, work documents, account access and years of personal history may all be stored on one device. That is why phones, laptops and electronic storage media are frequently important during searches.

Russian criminal procedure contains special rules concerning electronic storage media. In particular, Article 164.1 provides additional rules in certain criminal cases arising from business and other economic activity, including provisions concerning electronic media, the involvement of a specialist and the copying of information in circumstances provided by law.

Do not start deleting, wiping or moving information once the search has begun. At the same time, do not treat the removal of a device as too routine to check properly. If a phone, laptop or external drive is seized, look at how it is described in the protocol. The model, identifying details, quantity, condition and packaging may later matter.

The same applies to documents, money and other property. During a search people naturally focus on whether an item can be prevented from leaving the premises. Often the more realistic task is making sure there can be no argument later about exactly what was taken.

Have your phone, computer or documents been seized?

If it is unclear why the property is being retained, how the seizure was recorded or whether its return can already be requested, it is useful to review the documents while the sequence of events is still fresh.

Discuss Your Case

Choose the most convenient way to contact me. Briefly describe what has happened and the current stage of the case. I will reply and let you know what information or documents I need to review the situation.

If the search takes place at a business

A search of business premises creates an additional problem because the criminal investigation and the normal operation of the company suddenly collide. Employees may not know who should speak to investigators, whether everybody is expected to answer questions or what to do if workstations, laptops or servers start being removed.

It is usually better for one identified person to communicate with the investigative team on behalf of the company rather than allowing several employees to give separate explanations about matters they may understand only partially. Particular attention should be paid to corporate documents and electronic equipment.

Where servers, work computers or storage devices are involved, the issue may no longer be limited to evidence in a criminal case. Removing part of the company’s technical infrastructure can interrupt normal business activity, which makes the procedural basis and scope of the seizure particularly important.

Searches at night and urgent searches of a dwelling

Investigative actions are generally not conducted at night unless there is an urgent reason why they cannot wait. This follows from the general rules in Article 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. A search in the middle of the night is therefore not automatically unlawful simply because of the hour, but the use of that procedure must have a legal basis.

The same applies where a dwelling is searched without prior court authorisation. Russian law permits this in urgent circumstances, but the legality of the decision is reviewed afterwards.

Sometimes the central question after a search is not what the officers found but why they were legally entitled to enter the premises in the first place.

If you are a foreign national

If you do not read Russian confidently, do not treat the procedural documents presented during the search as paperwork that can simply be signed after somebody has given you a short oral explanation. Language rights matter in criminal proceedings, and a person who cannot properly understand Russian should raise the need for interpretation before signing a document that he or she cannot verify.

The same caution applies if identity or travel documents are removed. If a passport or another important document is seized, check that it is specifically identified in the protocol and seek legal advice promptly, because the consequences may extend beyond the criminal investigation itself.

The search protocol matters

By the time a search ends, people are usually exhausted. The home or office may be in disorder, family members or employees may be distressed, and phones or computers may have been removed. That is exactly when the protocol is presented for signature.

Read it slowly.

Check what has been listed as seized, where the items were found, how many there were and how they have been identified. Comments or objections made during the search should not disappear simply because the event has now been reduced to writing.

The description of seized property matters. Quantity, measure, weight, individual identifying characteristics and, where possible, value should be recorded as precisely as the circumstances allow. Where packaging and sealing are required, check how this has been recorded as well.

If the wording does not reflect what happened, ask for the discrepancy to be recorded before signing. It is much easier to point to a specific written objection later than to explain several months afterwards that the search did not happen in the way the protocol suggests.

A copy of the search protocol should be provided in accordance with the procedural rules. Keep it. Several weeks later, when questions arise about a seized device, a particular document or an objection made during the search, the protocol may be the first document that needs to be checked.

Can the search be challenged and seized property returned?

A completed search is not necessarily beyond review. Actions, omissions and decisions of an investigator may be challenged through the procedures provided by Russian criminal procedure, including before the relevant investigative authority, prosecutor or court, depending on the nature of the action or decision being challenged. Judicial complaints are governed in particular by Article 125 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Where a dwelling was searched under the urgent procedure without prior judicial authorisation, the legality of the search is reviewed afterwards.

The more immediate concern for many people is what happens to the property that was taken. There is no single timetable for return. Much depends on the procedural status of the item, whether it has been recognised as physical evidence and whether there remains a lawful reason to retain it.

Where there is no sufficient basis for continued retention, the return of the property can be raised procedurally. Electronic devices often require particular attention because losing access to a phone or work computer may affect far more than the criminal case itself. In circumstances provided by law, information can be copied and the need to retain the physical device can be considered separately.

The useful questions after a search are concrete. What exactly was taken? What procedural status has been given to it? Why is it still being retained? Is there already a basis to ask for its return?

Common questions

Does a search of a home always require a court order?

As a general rule, yes. Russian law also permits an urgent search without prior judicial approval where delay is impossible, followed by judicial review.

Can I call a lawyer during the search?

Yes. A lawyer may be present during a search. Contacting counsel at the beginning is usually more useful than waiting until the final protocol is being prepared.

Can investigators take my phone or laptop?

They can where the relevant legal grounds exist. Special procedural rules apply to electronic information, and additional restrictions exist in certain business-related criminal cases.

Can officers search me personally?

In certain circumstances, yes. A personal search may be carried out where there are grounds to believe that a person present is concealing relevant objects or documents.

When will seized property be returned?

That depends on its procedural status and the reason why it continues to be held. If there is no sufficient basis to retain it, the question of return can be raised.

What if the protocol is inaccurate?

Ask for the necessary comments or corrections to be recorded before signing. A specific written objection is much more useful later than a general statement that the search happened differently.

Has a search already taken place?

If your home or business has already been searched, keep every procedural document you received and write down the sequence of events while the details are still fresh. The legal assessment may require the decision or court order authorising the search, the protocol, the list of seized property and information about what happened afterwards.

If questioning follows the search, see Questioning in a Russian Criminal Case. If the search is followed by detention or you are told that you must accompany the officers, the next steps are different and are covered separately in What to Do If You Are Detained in Russia in a Criminal Case.