Russian customs tried to collect 267 million rubles for repairs to Putin’s yacht in Turkey. The court canceled those charges

Russian customs tried to collect 267 million rubles for repairs to Putin’s yacht in Turkey. The court canceled those charges

In July, the Arbitration Court of Omsk Region canceled the customs decision to assess 267 million rubles in customs payments against Fazar-Invest, the company that manages Vladimir Putin’s 71-meter yacht. Verstka found the relevant ruling in the arbitration case database.

According to the document, from October 2023 to May 2024, the yacht Victoria, which is used by the president’s family, underwent repairs in Turkey. After seven months of repairs, the vessel returned to Russia, and at customs it was cleared using VAT and import-duty exemptions, because it is registered in the Russian International Register of Ships.

However, in March 2026, Omsk customs conducted an inspection and concluded that the exemptions had been applied to the yacht improperly. In particular, the declaration field for the customs procedure listed the code for “processing outside the customs territory” (repairs abroad). This means that Victoria should be treated as a processed product rather than as an ordinary import of a vessel from the register. On that basis, Fazar-Invest was additionally charged 266.7 million rubles in customs payments.

The company itself went to arbitration court seeking to have the customs actions declared unlawful. In the end, the court ruled that the yacht’s clearance should be assessed “in accordance with the actual economic substance”, rather than by formal marks in the documents, and canceled the additional customs charges.

🩵Victoria is a 71-meter yacht worth about $30 million. Verstka reported that formally the vessel belongs to structures linked to Vladimir Putin’s friend Gennady Timchenko. Later, the Dossier Center found that the yacht is used by the president’s entourage, including Alina Kabaeva and her friends.

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