Since the start of the Ukraine war in February, sanctions against oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin have been used as a tool to put pressure on Russia. Assets affected so far have included yachts, luxury aircraft, and lavish residences around the world.
According to a Wednesday press release from the Ukrainian government, the latest development prompted a Croatian court to clear the way for the sale of a $200 million superyacht to benefit Ukraine.
Royal Romance, as the yacht is called, is a 300-foot-long Dutch-designed custom creation that can entertain 14 guests and is manned by some 21 crew members. The yacht belonged to Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian oil and media magnate who has led a pro-Russian party in Ukraine for years, even after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the start of the war in Donbas.
Medvedchuk is a Putin ally who has gone on vacation with the Russian leader. Putin himself is godfather to Medvedchuk’s daughter, Daria.
Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency (Arma) said it would “preserve the economic value [of the yacht] selling it at auction.”
According to The Guardian, it is the first such sale on behalf of the Ukrainian people since Western governments began imposing restrictions on the assets of hundreds of oligarchs.
Viktor Medvedchuk’s Royal Romance can be seen sailing near Venice.
(Courtesy of Kasa Fue/Wikimedia Commons)
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Medvedchuk was recently part of an unexpected prisoner exchange in September between Russia and Ukraine. Some 300 people were exchanged, including commanders who led a protracted Ukrainian defense of Mariupol earlier this year.
The oligarch was first detained in April in a special operation carried out by Ukraine’s state security service, or SBU. Although he was charged with treason last year, Medvedchuk escaped from house arrest within days of the outbreak of hostilities on February 24 in Ukraine.
This year, the Ukrainian government seized many assets that made up Medvedchuk’s 2021 net worth of $620 million: palatial villas in Ukraine, cars and equity shares in various companies.
However, the superyacht is a particular gem among Medvedchuk’s possessions, with a nearly 40-foot pool next to a waterfall that flows over Royal Romance’s stern.
The Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list reported on Tuesday that the yacht was raided by the FBI last month. After a US Department of Justice (DOJ) search warrant request was granted by a court in Split, Croatia, FBI agents boarded the yacht, which is docked in the city of Trogir. Judge Dinko Mešin confirmed that Medvedchuk and his wife, Oksana Marchenko, were named in the search warrant.
Oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk.
(Photo by Sergii Kharchenko/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Superyachts belonging to other oligarchs have been seized in the months since the war began.
Dilbar, the sixth longest yacht in the world, which has two heliports, was seized by the German authorities while it was docked in the port of Hamburg. The yacht was determined to have been transferred indirectly from oligarch Alisher Usmanov to his sister, who are under Western sanctions. He is reportedly worth around half a billion dollars.
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Another yacht, the Amadea, worth more than $300 million and belonging to Suleiman Kerimov, was seized by authorities in Fiji in May, according to a Justice Department news release.
The United States now has its sights set on the $156 million yacht called Madame Gu, the New York Times reported. The ship, linked to Russian oligarch Andrei Skoch, has been declared blocked property by the United States, but its seizure will be diplomatically difficult. Madame Gu is currently docked in Dubai, and the UAE is opposed to cooperation.
The seizure of these crafts has been an important strategy pursued by the Biden administration.
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“We stand with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets,” President Biden explained in his State of the Union address on March 1.
“We come for your ill-begotten gains.”
Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
