Due to the fact that the district court of the city of Split (Croatia) canceled the seizure of Medvedchukʼs yacht Royal Romance, Ukraine risks losing this asset.
This was reported by the first deputy chairman of the Councilʼs Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
The MP published a digest on the activities of the Agency for Investigation and Management of Assets (ARMA). In particular, it deals with the sale of the property of former MP Viktor Medvedchuk.
Medvedchukʼs yacht was under arrest in Croatia for two years. The decision of the Croatian court stipulated that every 3 months the existence of further conditions for the arrest would be checked and a decision would be made on its extension or cancellation.
In total, the Office of the Prosecutor General (OGP) of Ukraine sent 6 requests to extend the term of arrest of the yacht, which the Croatian side satisfied.
According to Zheleznyak, in the period from June 2022 to June 2023, ARMA did not take any measures to sell the yacht. Only starting from July 2023, the agency started working on it.
And when ARMA identified the auction house that would sell the yacht, the latter refused to sell it, just like its predecessor. This happened as a result of the work of Medvedchukʼs lawyers, the international law firm Steptoe.
In June 2024, the Supreme Criminal Court of Croatia returned the case to the District Court of the city of Split and appointed another judge in the case. And already on June 25, the court canceled the arrest of the yacht, the reason being the non-submission of an indictment in a criminal case by the OGP.
Currently, Medvedchukʼs assets (among them a yacht) are blocked by the decision of the Croatian government sanctions group. This means that the yacht cannot be taken out of the port of Croatia.
However, due to the cancellation of the seizure, ARMA cannot now sell the vessel. Zheleznyak believes that Ukraine may lose it as an asset.
What kind of yacht?
The 92-meter Royal Romance yacht is one of the largest yachts in the world. It is estimated at €200 million. The six-story ship is equipped with two elevators. Among other things, the yacht has four decks, a cinema, a gym, a swimming pool, a spa area and a cosmetology room, as well as about 50 rooms of various purposes.
On March 16, 2022, the Lviv court arrested the yacht, and on April 11, it was handed over to ARMA.
In November 2023, the government for the first time in the history of Ukraine normalized the possibility of selling seized property abroad. This was done to sell Viktor Medvedchukʼs Royal Romance yacht.
In February 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the sale of the yacht, and in May, ARMA reported that the vessel was under the Ukrainian flag. This should contribute to the subsequent sale of the vessel.