Yacht of Ukrainian oligarch close to Putin indefinitely frozen in Croatia

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO — Tuesday, 23 July 2024, 17:05

Viktor Medvedchuk’s Royal Romance yacht. Photo: Tjerk Zweers

A yacht belonging to Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian oligarch and former member of the Ukrainian Parliament close to Russian leader Vladimir Putin who has been accused of treason, remains indefinitely frozen in Croatia as part of sanctions. The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine is taking measures to ensure Medvedchuk’s property is frozen or confiscated.

Source: Nadiia Maksymets, spokeswoman for the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, in a comment for Ukrainska Pravda

Quote from Maksymets: "National Asset Recovery and Management Agency’s (ARMA) claims that it has not been able to sell the yacht seized in Croatia due to the lack of an indictment in the criminal proceedings from the Prosecutor General’s Office are groundless and misleading.

Having received the decision of the national [Ukrainian] and Croatian courts to confiscate the yacht and sell it, the ARMA did not manage to sell this asset within the given period, which is why the Prosecutor General’s Office, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and law enforcement agencies, took measures to impose European sanctions on this vessel."

Details: According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, Medvedchuk’s Royal Romance yacht is currently frozen as part of two proceedings against Medvedchuk.

The Office of the Prosecutor General and the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Ukraine have handed the evidence gathered by the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Bureau of Investigations over to European Union officials. This evidence base was sufficient to impose sanctions on Medvedchuk’s assets, including the Royal Romance yacht.

On 27 May 2024, the EU imposed sanctions on Medvedchuk and his wife. The Royal Romance yacht is currently frozen due to sanctions. It has been seized in the port of Trogir (Croatia) in accordance with the decision of the Permanent Sanctions Group and cannot leave the EU territory. The Office of the Prosecutor General is working alongside the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international partners to develop a mechanism to confiscate and sell the yacht.

Background:

On 23 July 2024, Yaroslav Zhelezniak, Deputy Chairman of the Financial Committee of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament), said that the National Asset Recovery and Management Agency of Ukraine (ARMA) was unable to sell Viktor Medvedchuk's seized yacht, Royal Romance, because the court in Croatia has lifted its arrest.
In April 2022, prosecutors and investigators, in cooperation with partners from the United States, tracked down Medvedchuk’s yacht and obtained evidence that it belonged to him. On 23 May 2022, the District Court of Split (Croatia), pursuant to the Office of the Prosecutor General’s request for international legal assistance, seized the vessel for the maximum period of two years, in accordance with Croatian law.
The Office of the Prosecutor General, in cooperation with Croatian authorities, were able to freeze the yacht for a month.
The ARMA did not start the process of selling the yacht until 20 March 2024, almost two years after its arrest.
In light of the approach of the sale deadline, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine initiated the process of seizing Medvedchuk’s yacht through the EU sanctions mechanisms in order to prevent it from leaving Croatian waters and to ensure that it could be confiscated and sold in the future.

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