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A Dutch auction house is selling the seized yacht of a pro-Kremlin oligarch, a Ukrainian agency said.
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Ukraine said this is the first seized asset to be sold to help support the country.
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The move is a “watershed moment” that could pave the way for similar efforts abroad, the report said.
A Dutch auction house is preparing to sell a yacht owned by a pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch. This is the first time that a seized asset is sold and the money sent to Ukraine, the Ukrainian Asset Recovery and Management Agency said.
The agency, a government agency responsible for detecting, tracing and handling assets resulting from corruption and other crimes, said Troostwijk Auctions would manage the sale of the 92-metre yacht.
The MY Royal Romance was owned by Viktor Medvedchuka Ukrainian parliamentarian whose Ukrainian citizenship was revoked due to his pro-Russian activities.
The US sanctioned Medvedchuk in March 2014 for his alleged role in Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, and Ukrainian counterintelligence agents arrested him in April 2022 after he was charged with treason.
According to the Security Service of Ukraine, he was exchanged for 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war in September 2022 after requesting such an exchange shortly after his arrest.
Selling yachts owned by those sanctioned by the Ukrainian and Western governments has proven to be a headache.
Many of the yachts are ‘frozen’ – not seized – and do not technically belong to overseas governments, meaning they cannot be sold without special permission.
As BI previously reported, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has spurred many governments into action sanctions against Russia’s richestincluding the seizure of superyachts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
But more than two years later, it is still unclear whether they can be sold and who would buy them.
The Ukrainian Asset Recovery and Management Agency described attempts to sell the Royal Romance as ten months of “tireless” work.
It also described the move as a “watershed moment” that could pave the way for more similar efforts in Ukraine and beyond.
The sale of Medvedchuk’s yacht is not only symbolic, but can also be the first impetus and demonstration for the entire community that the assets of traitors of Ukraine will be used for the benefit of Ukraine.
The agency did not indicate where and when the auction would take place. The expected price tag was also not mentioned.
The Ukrainian Asset Recovery and Management Agency and Troostwijk Auctions did not immediately respond to BI’s request for comment.
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