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Breaking news, putin pal’s $200m yacht spotted in croatia after ukraine treason charge.

Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, a Putin pal who fled Ukrainian house arrest when the Russian invasion began, may be on the run — but his $200 million megayacht is firmly anchored in Croatia. 

If Ukraine falls, Medvedchuk is Putin’s top choice to head a puppet government in the shattered country. He has been on US sanctions lists since Russia’s 2014 invasion of Crimea. In May, Ukraine arrested Medvedchuk for high treason and for plundering state resources in Crimea, which was unlawfully annexed by Russia in 2014 . 

Medvedchuk is believed to be in Russia, or at his lavish Crimean estate. But although he’s sanctioned in the US, the EU is still on friendly terms with him — in part because officials there are said to believe he may be a useful peace broker. In the past, he’s brokered prisoner exchanges between Russia and Ukraine, diplomats say. 

For now, Medvedchuk’s $200 million megayacht — Royal Romance — remains in full view, docked in the pretty port town of Rijeka, Croatia. Royal Romance was built in the Netherlands in 2014, the same year Russia invaded Crimea. 

The yacht comes equipped with a 40-foot long pool that feeds an onboard waterfall, plus four sun-splashed platforms wrapped in glass. 

In case anyone gets any ideas to sabotage Medvedchuk’s pricey plaything —  the way Ukrainian Taras Ostapchuk flooded  Lady Anastasia , the Spanish-docked megayacht owned by an arms dealing oligarch  — there’s a local security firm standing guard, noted local resident John Clayton, who formerly headed the democratization department at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Mission to Serbia. 

“It’s been here for the past year. We’ve watched it with some disgust. It’s now guarded by a private security guard,” Clayton told The Post. Clayton provided The Post with a picture he took of the superyacht.

Get the latest updates in the Russia-Ukraine conflict with The Post’s live coverage.

Clayton says he alerted the British and American embassies to the yacht’s location. 

“I’ve been emailing the British Embassy, but they are ignoring me. However, the US Embassy is tracking it now,” Clayton claimed. 

Medvedchuk, a legal eagle turned oil and media mogul — whose three pro-Putin propaganda TV stations were taken off the air in Ukraine — is also a pro-Putin politician, and he owes his oil-based fortune to his ties to the Russian dictator. 

The two are so close that Putin is godfather to one of Medvedchuk’s two daughters. The dictator and the mogul reportedly watch Formula One races together. Putin once kept a Ukrainian president waiting because he was having dinner with Medvedchuk, Russia expert Anders Aslund told The Post. 

Medvedchuk is reportedly worth around $620 million, according to Forbes, but Aslund says he’s worth far more thanks to stashing illicit funds in offshore accounts .

The megayacht is registered in the Cayman Islands. And it is extremely expensive to maintain — perhaps up to $1 million a month. “We have no idea how this is being paid given that he’s now on the run,” Clayton said. 

However Clayton did have some suggestions on what to do with the yacht now. 

“Morally, it should either be seized and sold, with the assets going to support the people of Ukraine, or it should be used to house the Ukrainian refugees now arriving in Croatia. Personally, we prefer the latter option, but it should be up to the Ukrainian people to decide as it was purchased with wealth stolen from their country,” Clayton said.

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A pro-Kremlin oligarch's impounded yacht is being auctioned off — with the money going to Ukraine

• A Dutch auction house is selling the seized yacht of a pro-Kremlin oligarch, per a Ukraine agency.
• Ukraine said it's the first seized asset to be sold to help support the country.
• The move is a "turning point" that could pave the way for similar efforts abroad, it said.

A Dutch auction house is gearing up to sell a yacht belonging to a pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch, the first time a seized asset is being sold and the funds sent to Ukraine, according to Ukraine's Asset Recovery and Management Agency .

The agency, a governmental body responsible for finding, tracing, and dealing with assets derived from corruption and other crimes, said Troostwijk Auctions would manage the sale of the 92-meter-long yacht.

The MY Royal Romance was owned by Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian lawmaker who had his Ukrainian citizenship revoked for his pro-Russian activities.

The US sanctioned Medvedchuk in March 2014 for his alleged role in the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, and Ukrainian counterintelligence officers arrested him in April 2022 after he was charged with treason.

He was swapped for 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war in September 2022 after requesting such an exchange shortly after his arrest, according to the Security Service of Ukraine .

Selling yachts owned by those sanctioned by Ukrainian and Western governments has proved to be a headache .

Many of the yachts are "frozen" — not seized — and technically don't belong to overseas governments, meaning they can't be sold without special permission.

As BI previously reported , Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted many governments to enact sanctions against Russia's richest , including seizing superyachts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

But over two years later, it's still unclear whether they can be sold or, indeed, who'd buy them.

Ukraine's Asset Recovery and Management Agency described attempts to sell the Royal Romance as 10 months of "tireless" work.

It also described the move as a "turning point" that could pave the way for more similar efforts in Ukraine and abroad.

The "sale of Medvedchuk's yacht is not only symbolic, as it can be the first impetus and demonstration to the entire community that the assets of traitors to Ukraine will be used for the benefit of Ukraine," it said.

The agency did not specify where or when the auction would take place. It also failed to mention the expected price tag.

Ukraine's Asset Recovery and Management Agency and Troostwijk Auctions did not immediately respond to BI's request for comments.

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This $200 Million Russian Superyacht Could Be Auctioned Off to Aid Ukraine

The 303-foot vessel, known as "royal romance," was delivered by feadship in 2015., rachel cormack.

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One Russian oligarch’s loss could be Ukraine ‘s gain.

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The 303-footer, known as Royal Romance , was seized in Croatia earlier this year as part of the widespread Western sanctions imposed against Russian individuals and businesses following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Delivered by Dutch yard Feadship in 2015, the custom superyacht features a sleek steel hull and a lightweight aluminum superstructure. Onboard, she has seven staterooms for up to 14 guests and cabins for 21 crew, plus a 39-foot swimming pool with a waterfall that flows over the stern.

ARMA said its representatives had flown to Croatia and “inspected the arrested yacht belonging to the family members of a people’s deputy and one of the leaders of a political force banned in Ukraine.”

Medvedchuk, who is often referred to as the “dark prince” of Ukrainian politics, has led a pro-Kremlin political party in Ukraine for years. He has also been a loyal ally of Putin for the past two decades. The Russian president is even godfather to his daughter Daria, as reported by The Guardian . Medvedchuk has been sanctioned by the US, the UK and Ukraine. He was arrested in Ukraine in April, then handed over to Russia in a prisoner exchange in September.

The auction of Royal Romance would mark the first such sale on behalf of the people of Ukraine. Back in September, a $75 million superyacht that was seized from Russian steel magnate Dmitry Pumpyansky was auctioned off Gibraltar. However, the proceeds went to JP Morgan after a legal claim from the US investment bank said Pumpyansky’s holding company Pyrene Investments owed it more than $20 million. Let’s hope Ukraine sees the funds this time around.

Rachel Cormack is a digital editor at Robb Report. She cut her teeth writing for HuffPost, Concrete Playground, and several other online publications in Australia, before moving to New York at the…

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By Conor Feasey 24 Apr 2024

Royal Romance’s seller confirmed

Amidst the controversy, the croatian government has revealed that dutch auction house troostwijk auctions will oversee the sale of the seized yacht….

Following a competitive selection process, Troostwijk Auctions has been named as the body to oversee the sale of sanctioned Ukrainian Viktor Medvedchuk’s yacht, Royal Romance . According to Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) earlier today (23 April), the Commission members heading the selection process reviewed the applications of three official bidders.

“This is already a great victory […] Medvedchuk’s yacht will be sold at a transparent auction and will bring significant revenues to the budget of Ukraine," says Olena Duma Head of ARMA. “Whoever buys Medvedchuk’s yacht will deal a political blow to the Putin regime and will be on the pages of world history.”

The ownership status of Royal Romance was transferred to the Ukrainian government earlier this year.

On 20 March 2024, Ukraine and ARMA announced their plans to sell “the yacht of traitor-collaborator Medvedchuk” – the first time a seized asset from abroad will be sold by the nation’s authorities.

This competitive selection process was made possible due to the ruling of the Lychakiv District Court of Lviv on 11 April 2022, the decision of the District Court of Split of the Republic of Croatia on 25 May 2022 and the inspection of the asset carried out on 29 February earlier this year, with the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.

Having been established in 2015, Troostwijk Auctions will now manage the sale of the 92-metre Feadship and specialises in the sale of yachts, with an annual revenue of around €1.5 billion. According to Duma, the company’s documents confirm that it has transparent auction rules and supervises the legality of auction procedures with a notary.

The Dutch auction house was selected in favour of two other applicants: US-based Asset Reality Limited and Boathouse Auctions. The former was not admitted to the competitive selection process on the grounds that the company did not comply with the Ukrainian Government's Resolution, the submission of an incomplete package of documents and a violation of the established requirements.

During the competitive selection, as requested by the National Agency, applicants had to provide the Commission overseeing the selection process with a letter clarifying they were not involved in the Russian Federation, Belarus, Medvedchuk or any persons associated with him. Troostwijk Auctions was then approved for the role after extensive evaluation from the commission.

Now, Troostwijk Auctions has five business days to present a proposal to ARMA to conclude the agreement, a draft of which must be supplied to the National Agency in advance.

While the future of Royal Romance remains ultimately unclear at the present moment, the move to seize, take ownership, sell the yacht at auction and keep the proceeds of sale echoes the unresolved Alfa Nero situation in Antigua. The vessel has remained there for several years following lengthy legal processes and litigious disputes over the ultimate ownership.

Whether a similar process will happen with Royal Romance is speculative, however, the parallels remain, only to be reinforced by an announcement earlier today from the ARMA – a bill allowing the National Agency to use seized funds to buy Defense Bonds was passed, being fully supported by 299 members of parliament.

Duma says that the swift adoption of this project “will allow [ARMA] to significantly expand the possibilities for replenishing the state budget and increase funding for defence projects.” ARMA is responsible for purchasing these bonds, and recent figures show a significant amount invested in Defence Bonds.

In 2023, ARMA held Defence Bonds with a total value of 3.701 billion Ukrainian Hryvnia (UAH) (€87 million), consisting of 3,602,934 individual units. The income generated from these bonds amounted to 195.86 million UAH (€4.6 million). Currently, after some bonds have been repaid, ARMA still holds 2,378,842 units of Defence Bonds, with a total value of 2.465 billion UAH (€58 million).

Despite some media outlets speculatively valuing Royal Romance at around €200 million, it is difficult to determine what the yacht will actually be sold for if   the sale is to go through. Nevertheless, considering the geopolitical situation Ukraine is in, any proceeds to aid ARMA’s new programme will provide an immensely sizeable defence budget increase, regardless of the litigious fallout that is sure to follow.

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