Viktor Medvedchuk, a Putin ally who escaped house detention in Ukraine when the Russian invasion began, may be on the run, but his $200 million megayacht is safely anchored in Croatia.
Medvedchuk is Putin’s top pick to lead a puppet administration in the shattered country if it comes apart. Since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, he has been on US sanctions lists. Medvedchuk was detained in May for high treason and stealing public resources in Crimea, which Russia illegally invaded in 2014.
Medvedchuk is thought to be in Russia or at his opulent Crimean mansion. Despite the fact that he is sanctioned in the United States, the EU maintains a friendly relationship with him, in part because officials there feel he may pose a threat to the EU.
For the time being, Medvedchuk’s $200 million megayacht, Royal Romance, is docked in the charming Croatian port town of Rijeka. In 2014, the Netherlands erected Royal Romance, the same year Russia attacked Crimea.
The boat has a 40-foot pool that feeds an onboard waterfall, as well as four glass-enclosed sunbathing terraces.
There’s a local security firm standing guard in case anyone gets any ideas to sabotage Medvedchuk’s pricey toy, much like Ukrainian Taras Ostapchuk flooded Lady Anastasia, the Spanish-docked megayacht owned by an arms dealing oligarch, according to local resident John Clayton, who formerly headed the democratization department at the OSCE’s Mission to Serbia.
“It’s been here for a year now.” We’ve been watching it with disdain. Clayton informed The Washington Post that it is currently secured by a hired security guard. Clayton sent The Post a photo of the superyacht that he snapped.
Clayton claims he notified the British and American embassies of the yacht’s whereabouts.
“I’ve tried emailing the British Embassy, but they haven’t responded. Clayton claimed, “However, the US Embassy is currently tracking it.”
Medvedchuk is a pro-Putin politician who owes his oil-based fortune to his ties to the Russian tyrant. He is a legal eagle turned oil and media billionaire whose three pro-Putin propaganda TV stations were yanked off the air in Ukraine.
Putin is the godfather of one of Medvedchuk’s two daughters, demonstrating their close relationship. According to reports, the dictator and the mogul watch Formula One races together. According to Russia analyst Anders Aslund, Putin once kept a Ukrainian president waiting because he was having dinner with Medvedchuk.
According to Forbes, Medvedchuk is worth $620 million, but Aslund claims he is worth significantly more due to illegal funds stashed in offshore accounts.