Russian oligarch's vessel worth UAH 1bn arrested in Ukraine: what is known

The vessel of Russian oligarch Alexander Verkhovsky was arrested in Ukraine. The value of the Sokolovskaya Bukhta fish trawler is estimated at almost UAH 1 billion.

This was reported by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the vessel was being completed at a plant in Mykolaiv. The ship has now been transferred to the Asset Recovery and Management Agency.

"To circumvent the sanctions, the beneficial owner of the vessel registered it with one of the companies controlled by him in the Primorsky Krai of Russia. However, SBU officers exposed the fraud and blocked the Russian trawler," the statement said.

Alexander Verkhovsky is a Far Eastern Russian oligarch who is known as the "master of the Kuril Islands". He is the owner of the Hydrostroy holding, which operates in a number of industries, from fisheries to construction.

Verkhovsky's companies provide significant revenues to the Russian state budget for the war. Verkhovsky also has close ties to the Kremlin.

"The fishing industry of the Russian businessman allows him to regularly transfer billions of dollars to the Russian budget. The arrested trawler is an integral part of the oligarch's trading 'fleet'," the SBU said.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL, earlier in Germany, artworks were confiscated from the yacht of Russian businessman Farhad Akhmedov, who has close ties to the Kremlin. The total value of the property is several million euros.

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