Auction Of Golden Hull Yacht Linked To Belarusian Billionaire Commences In France

• 22.01.2024, 13:56

The yacht was confiscated during a money laundering investigation.

The French judicial sales agency Agrasc ordered the auction of the superyacht Stefania, which received the BOAT Design & Innovation 2022 award. The vessel is almost new, with only 200 hours on the main engines and almost no scratches on the hull, writes the Radio Svaboda website with reference to The Maritime Executive.

The yacht Stefania was built by Dynamiq, a Monaco-based firm, at a shipyard in Turkey. It is the shipbuilder's largest vessel, measuring 135 feet (41 meters) in length and featuring a distinctive gold-painted hull. The interior of the ship has a rare ship's fireplace.

The yacht Stefania was confiscated during an investigation into money laundering by an unnamed Belarusian billionaire. The details of the case, like the name of the Belarusian, are not disclosed.

The ship was reportedly found in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, a luxury yacht harbor between Nice and Monaco.

On January 25, the yacht will be sold at a live auction, which will take place on the helipad of the International Yacht Club of Antibes. The sale is listed in the auctioneers' catalog under the title “So Crime Doesn't Pay Off”.The lot is expected to fetch around $8-10 million. The brokerage's cost per vessel last year alone was in the $20 million range.

The auction house De Baecque is handling the sale on behalf of Agrasc. The French asset confiscation agency is as new as the yacht: it was created in 2021 with the aim of centralizing and organizing all asset confiscations by law enforcement agencies.