A court in Croatia has canceled the arrest of the 92-meter yacht Royal Romance, which belongs to former MP Viktor Medvedchuk, who is accused of treason. Now the Asset Recovery and Management Agency will not be able to sell this asset. The ARMA and the Prosecutor General's Office have already accused each other of inaction, but this is unlikely to help Ukraine avoid losing Medvedchuk's expensive asset, UNN reports .
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The day before, it became known that the District Court of Split canceled the arrest of Medvedchuk's yacht due to the lack of an indictment in the criminal case from the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The ARMA did not justify why the Agency failed to sell Medvedchuk's yacht in two years and instead blamed the Prosecutor General's Office for the delay.
Of course, the new ARMA leadership may argue that this process was delayed by their predecessors or the Office of the Prosecutor General. However, it is worth noting that Olena Duma has been heading ARMA for over a year now, and during this time, as we can see, the yacht has not been put up for auction.
At the same time, Olena Duma mentioned Medvedchuk's yacht in almost every public speech and emphasizedthat ARMA employees were doing "titanic work" to realize this asset. However, it is unclear whether this was a misstatement and whether the Duma actually meant that they were "carrying water in a sieve", as it mentioned the inspection of the yacht in Croatia as an example of "titanic work".
The head of the ARMA even complained about Medvedchuk's "resistance" to the agency's efforts to sell his asset. It can be assumed that the traitor's lawyers may indeed have tried to influence the situation with the arrest of the yacht in Croatia, but can this be an excuse for ARMA to allow Ukraine to lose one of Medvedchuk's most expensive seized assets.
The sale of the 92-meter yacht Royal Romance, estimated at $200 million, could bring significant revenues to the state budget, which could be used to finance social programs, defense or other important needs of the country.
The Office of the Prosecutor General also stated about the inaction of the new ARMA leadership regarding the sale of this asset.
The Office of the Prosecutor General has been making efforts throughout the seizure to develop mechanisms that would allow ARMA to sell the property located abroad... However, the new leadership of ARMA allowed delays in this process... Only on March 20, 2024, almost 2 years after the arrest, did ARMA begin the procedure for the sale of the yacht,
Law enforcement officials assured that the Royal Romance yacht is currently under arrest in two proceedings against Medvedchuk. However, it is worth noting that these decisions are valid only on the territory of Ukraine and are not legally binding for Croatia.
Therefore, law enforcement officers are currently working with international partners to develop a mechanism for the confiscation and sale of the Royal Romance yacht owned by the former MP, co-founder of the OPFL political party.
There is only one question left: if Ukraine succeeds in re-seizing the Royal Romance yacht in Croatia, how much longer will it take for the head of the ARMA, Olena Duma, to overcome Medvedchuk's "resistance" and still sell the seized asset at auction. Or will the "titanic work" end again with the inspection of the yacht in Croatia?