An ultra-luxury yacht worth 200 million euros. owned by Viktor Medvedchuk, an oligarch and friend of Vladimir Putin, who is under sanctions, is to be sold at auction after it was seized in Croatia earlier this year.
As reported by the Guardian, the Ukrainian government said a Croatian court ruled that Medvedchuk's 92.5-meter yacht Royal Romance should be transferred to the Ukrainian Agency for Asset Recovery and Management (Arma), which said it would "retain its economic value by selling it at auction."
This is the first such sale for the benefit of the people of Ukraine since Western governments imposed restrictions on the assets of hundreds of oligarchs following its invasion in February.
Medvedchuk, 68, is a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician who was arrested in Ukraine in April and handed over to Russia in a prisoner swap in September. He is often referred to as the "dark prince" of Ukrainian politics and Putin is godfather to his daughter, Darya.
Arma, a special branch of the Ukrainian government tasked with "finding, tracing and managing assets derived from corruption," said its agents went to Croatia and "inspected the detained yacht belonging to family members of a lay deputy and one of the leaders of a political force banned in Ukraine."
According to the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list, Croatian police raided the yacht last month on behalf of the FBI. The newspaper reported that a court granted the U.S. Justice Department's request for a search warrant on November 15 and confirmed that the search took place on November 19. Judge Dinko Mešin reportedly told the newspaper that the search warrant names Medvedchuk and his wife, Oksana Marchenko, in connection with alleged money laundering.
The Royal Romance, which was built by Dutch superyacht builder Feadship in 2005, has staterooms for 14 guests and space for 21 crew, as well as a 4-meter-wide swimming pool with a "running waterfall cascading down the stern".
In September, a 72.5-meter-long superyacht seized from a Russian oligarch subject to sanctions, Dmitry Pubiansky, was sold at auction to an undisclosed buyer for $37.5 million, in the first sale of its kind since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The yacht - which featured a swimming pool, 3D cinema room, gym, hot tub and fully equipped spa - was not sold for the benefit of the Ukrainian people, but for the US investment bank JP Morgan, which claimed that Piumansky owed it $20.5 million.
Source: in.gr
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source[/P]
