Mikhail Klimentiev Sputnik Reuters WASHINGTON – Authorities in Ukraine announced on Thursday that they had seized more than 150 assets belonging to Viktor Medvedchuk, a former media mogul and politician accused of treason for allegedly plotting to overthrow the Kremlin’s overthrow government. They included 26 cars, 32 apartments, 23 houses, 30 plots of land, 17 parking spaces and a yacht, according to a statement from the Security Service of Ukraine. Authorities said they located and seized equity shares in 25 companies owned by either Medvedchuk or his wife, Oksana Marchenko. Medvedev was arrested this week by Ukrainian law enforcement after more than a month as a fugitive after escaping from house arrest in the chaos following Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine. Known as the closest Ukrainian friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the news of Medvedev’s arrest on Tuesday was greeted with joy in Ukraine, which is enduring a brutal Russian attack. On Thursday, Ukraine’s top law enforcement official provided details for the first time about the Medvedchuk recapture mission. He said Russian agents planned to smuggle Medvedchuk across Ukrainian territory by boat to the Russian-occupied part of the country and from there to Moscow. When Medvedchuk was arrested, the 67-year-old was wearing a Ukrainian army uniform and was accompanied by what appeared to be real Ukrainian law enforcement officers. The photo of Medvedchuk in custody released by the Ukrainian authorities this week offers no indication of his vast fortune, estimated by Forbes Ukraine at just over $ 620 million in 2021. But the seizures of assets tell a different story, giving a clear picture of the rich lifestyle of one of Ukraine’s richest oligarchs. Medvedchuk owned many palace houses throughout Ukraine. His house outside Kyiv has a real Pullman train car with a gold interior, parked on a fake station platform. Earlier this year, a judge in Ukraine ordered the seizure of three apartments, two villas and a yacht all owned by Martchenko. The 300-foot Royal Romance is valued at about $ 200m and was anchored in Croatia when it was recovered in mid-March. Ukrainian authorities did not provide details on Thursday about the second yacht they had seized.
