How the State Can Sell Medvedchuk’s Superyacht – and Why It Still Hasn’t Happened

Royal Romance is a 92-meter yacht worth over $200 million, linked to Viktor Medvedchuk. The yacht was seized back in 2022 and transferred to ARMA (the Asset Recovery and Management Agency), yet it has not been sold.

As ILI’s legal analyst Svitlana Hordiienko explained on Hromadske Radio, the process has been blocked by:

• legal restrictions – ARMA cannot directly contact foreign authorities to recognize Ukrainian court rulings;
• the lengthy criminal proceedings in Ukraine with no final conviction;
• pressure from Medvedchuk’s lawyers on auction houses in the Netherlands and the United States.

While Ukraine awaits renewed recognition of the court’s decision in Croatia, the yacht’s value continues to decrease each year.

ILI’s analytics confirm these findings. In its policy brief Royal Romance, the Institute’s team examined how the state manages seized assets and identified systemic barriers that hinder their sale. Based on the monitoring results, ILI formulated proposals to improve relevant procedures and legislation.

More details in the full interview: