In connection with the media reports that V. Medvedchuk's seized yacht Royal Romance has left its permanent location, the Asset Recovery and Management Agency of Ukraine (ARMA) hereby states the following.
ARMA is in constant communication with the Croatian authorities – The Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure; the Ministry of Justice, the Port of Trogir, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Ukraine in Croatia and the Embassy of Croatia in Ukraine.
According to the documents received by the National Agency, the superyacht is always at the point of deployment, at the berth of the Adria Docks shipyard in Trogir.
According to the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Croatia, the yacht Royal Romance temporarily set sail on January 25, 2024 to confirm her technical capability, buoyancy and engine operation (test drive). These activities were carried out by the decision of the District Court of Split (Croatia). To ensure the legality of the technical inspection, the Harbor Master with the participation of Croatian police officers monitored the vessels.
According to website Marintraffic.com, the yacht's departure was confirmed at 10:35 a.m. and arrival at 12:47 a.m. (UTC+1).
Signature: Letter from the Ministry of the Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Croatia on technical testing of the Royal Romance yacht
In addition, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia - Head of the interdepartmental working group on issues of support to Ukraine Mr. Frano Matušić informed on adoption by the District Court of Split of the decision to transfer the vessel Royal Romance to Ukraine based on the request for international legal assistance. An assurance was received that Croatia expects the vessel to be handed over to Ukraine as soon as possible. According to the Croatian side, there are no legal obstacles to the implementation of this intention.
In addition, ARMA received approval to conduct a re-examination of the asset to ensure a proper sale.
After carrying out an assessment of the seized asset, ARMA plans to sale it. The sale of this lot will be the first example of the sale of seized assets located abroad.
As a reminder, on November 14, 2023, at the initiative of ARMA, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine improved the procedure for the sale of seized assets and introduced the possibility of selling them abroad. The introduced amendments regulate the sale of seized property abroad for the first time in the history of Ukraine. The regulations initiated by ARMA have opened up the possibility to start procedures for the sale of the 92-meter yacht Royal Romance, owned by the family of Viktor Medvedchuk and located in Croatia
