To sell the yacht owned by Viktor Medvedchuk, a final court decision is required, and the trial of the so-called "coal case," under which the Royal Romance yacht was seized, is still ongoing. As of today, the decision to sell the yacht falls within the competence of ARMA and the relevant authorities of the Republic of Croatia (where the yacht is located), UNN was informed by the Prosecutor General's Office in response to an inquiry.
The Croatian side has repeatedly stated that for the final sale of the property, a final court decision in the criminal proceedings, which provides for confiscation, is necessary. The trial of the "coal case" is ongoing, and obtaining a legally binding verdict is objectively a lengthy process.
The Prosecutor General's Office emphasized that they have taken all possible and legally prescribed measures for the arrest, preservation, and subsequent sale of the Royal Romance yacht. Further decisions depend on judicial procedures, the powers of ARMA, and international partners, and not on the sole decisions of the prosecutor's office.
ARMA had the opportunity to sell the yacht from 2022 to 2024, but this did not happen.
Thus, the Prosecutor General's Office initiated the arrest of the Royal Romance yacht within the framework of the criminal proceedings known as the "coal case," in which Viktor Medvedchuk is among the accused.
At the request of prosecutors, in March-April 2022, Ukrainian courts ruled to seize the yacht and transfer it to ARMA for further sale. On May 5, 2022, these court decisions were officially received by ARMA. From that moment, ARMA acquired the authority to manage the property, and the PGO could only facilitate the implementation of these decisions within the framework of international legal assistance.
Since the yacht is located in the Republic of Croatia, the PGO immediately took measures for international cooperation. In May 2022, relevant requests were sent to the Croatian side.
As a result, the Split District Court ruled to temporarily seize the yacht for two years, prohibiting any registration actions and transferring it to ARMA's management. This decision was unprecedented for Croatian practice.
Given the limitations of Croatian legislation regarding the duration of arrests, in 2022-2024, the PGO repeatedly provided additional information to extend the restrictive measures. In total, more than 30 official requests and letters were sent to the competent authorities of Croatia and the USA within the framework of international legal assistance, and all received materials were transferred to ARMA.
Despite the existence of court decisions, ARMA's order to conduct a tender for the selection of entities for the sale of seized property was issued only on March 15, 2024. Until then, the court decisions effectively remained unfulfilled.
The PGO also reported that Medvedchuk is a figure in investigations in other criminal proceedings, and in these cases, the same yacht was also seized for transfer to ARMA.
Medvedchuk's yacht may be sold by Croatia
Separately, the Prosecutor General's Office initiated the application of European Union sanctions. The decision to include Viktor Medvedchuk in the EU sanctions lists was adopted on May 27, 2024, and remains in force. In this regard, the Royal Romance yacht cannot leave the EU territory and can be sold within the framework of the sanctions procedure.
This means that the decision to sell the yacht under sanctions can be made by Croatia.
Decisions on the sale of a yacht under sanctions are made by the competent authorities of the European Union member state where the relevant asset is located, based on EU regulations.
In this case, Ukraine is not a party to the asset realization procedure.
At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Ministry of Justice can provide information, conduct negotiations, and diplomatically support interaction with EU bodies.
Recall
On April 11, 2022, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on the transfer of Medvedchuk's yacht to ARMA, which was seized as part of the investigation into criminal proceedings concerning the ex-people's deputy's treason.