Sevastopol customs officers have detained a yacht stolen by con artists from Russia in the Caribbean

Sevastopol customs officers have foiled an attempt to illegally legalize a yacht stolen by a group of Russians in the Caribbean in spring 2019.

Sevastopol customs officers have foiled an attempt to illegally legalize a yacht stolen by a group of Russians in the Caribbean islands in spring 2019

The tourists from Russia were vacationing in the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, where they rented a sail and motor yacht worth 30 million rubles from a foreign charter company. They transported the vessel back to their home country, and then one of the perpetrators registered it using forged documents

After that, the swindlers set up a business and began to rent out the yacht under the Russian flag for boat trips along the Russian and Turkish coasts of the Black Sea. That’s where the vehicle came to the attention of Sevastopol customs operatives

The yacht was detained. The expert examination found that it has two identification numbers, one of which is applied in an artisanal way and is fake. In addition, the vessel was not declared and has the status of foreign goods. The amount of unpaid customs duties exceeded 8 million rubles

The foreign firm, the owner of the vehicle, confirmed the information about its theft. The Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force has opened a criminal case. The ringleader is wanted internationally

Sevastopol Customs initiated criminal proceedings under part 2 of article 194 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (evasion of customs payments) and 174 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (legalization of property acquired by criminal means)

The investigation is ongoing