The Moscow House in Riga, which was confiscated from Russia by the Latvian Parliament in early 2024, has been put up for auction with a starting price of €3.57 million. The official publication Latvijas Vēstnesis reported the upcoming auction, which will be conducted by the Latvian State Real Estate Management Enterprise (VNĪ). The auction will begin on Tuesday, August 20th, and will run until September 19th. The property being auctioned includes a 966 square meter plot of land with a building on it, which is currently owned by the Republic of Latvia. The Latvian Parliament approved the corresponding law on January 11th. The sale of the Moscow House is part of Latvia's efforts to confiscate the Russian sanatorium "Yantarny Bereg" in Jurmala, as the same method used to confiscate the Moscow House cannot be applied to it.
Prior to the auction, the assets of the Moscow House were frozen and the institution was declared a threat to the sovereignty and security of Latvia. The proceeds from the auction will be transferred to Ukraine. It was noted that the building will only be sold together with the plot of land. The property was appraised, with the land value at €517,000 and the buildings at €2.3 million. The Moscow House in Riga was opened in 2004 and was positioned as a cultural and business center, with its operations funded by the Moscow City Government.
The auctioning of the Moscow House is a significant development in Latvia's effort to seek reparations from Russia for past actions.
