The superyacht, Royal Romance, belonging to a known associate of the Russian president Vladimir Putin will be transferred to the Ukrainian government. The superyacht will then be auctioned off, overseen by Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA). The yacht is 92.5 m long and is estimated to be worth $200 million.
The yacht was seized in connection with EU sanctions at the Port of Rijeka in Croatia. The vessel is owned by the Russian Businessman and political leader, Viktor Medvedchuk, who is a staunch supporter and a personal friend of Vladimir Putin. His close ties to the Kremlin have made him subject to US and EU sanctions on Russian oligarchs.
The FBI and Croatian local police boarded the vessel sometime between November 13th and 22nd after obtaining a search warrant from a Croatian court. After the search was conducted, a district court in Split, Croatia decided to transfer the ownership of the vessel to Ukraine for auction. The Ukrainian agency, ARMA has been in close contact with Croatian law enforcement, the Croatian Justice ministry, and the authorities of the port to finalize the transfer of the yacht.
After the transfer has been finalized, the yacht will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. The proceeds of the auction will go to Ukraine.
Medvechuk was sanctioned by the Ukrainian government back in February 2021 for backing Russian-aligned separatists in Eastern Ukraine. He was arrested in Kyiv under the charges of “illegal exploitation of natural resources” in Russian-Occupied Crimea. He spent the next 10 months under house arrest and escaped during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He was then recaptured by Ukrainian forces and traded for 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
The opinions expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily those of News2Sea.
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