The Latvian parliament has adopted amendments to the law on supporting Ukraine’s civilian population that will pave the way to repossessing cars confiscated from drunk drivers and sending them to the Ukrainian government, Delfi reports.
“We can realise vehicles seized from drunk drivers by selling or scrapping them, or disassembling them for parts. However, we see that in the current situation they would be more useful to support the Ukrainian nation,” senior lawmaker Raimonds Bergmanis said.
The Latvian government will decide on each individual case. Cars will be handed over through an organisation that cooperates with the Ukrainian government and has received aid requests.
Latvian Finance Minister Arvils Ašeradens put forward the proposal to send these cars to the Ukrainian army and was later backed by the parliament coalition.
The government coalition earlier agreed that it would be possible to hand over such vehicles to the Ukrainian army, Delfi notes.
In November 2022, Latvia passed a law that authorises confiscation of cars from people who drive under the influence. Cars will be seized if alcohol concentration exceeds 1.5 per mille or if drivers test positive for drugs. Moreover, should drivers refuse to get tested, their vehicles will also be confiscated.
The confiscated cars are stored at car parks of the state supply agency across Latvia and then later auctioned off.
