At the end of November 2023, the news spread in the media and social networks that the President of Ukraine allegedly acquired two yachts for money allocated to the support of Kyiv. We decided to check if these messages are true.
In Russian Telegram channels, the news began to spread on November 28. Bloggers referred to an investigation, according to which in October 2023 people from Zelensky’s closest entourage acquired two yachts with a total value of $ 75 million. In particular, they wrote Telegram channels "Sanya in Florida"(398,000 views at the time of writing this analysis),"Solovyov"(300,000),"Ukraine.ru"(142 000) and"Ostashko! Important"(109,000). Also, the article called "Zelensky was caught on the purchase of luxurious yachts for $ 75 million" published "Komsomolskaya Truth".
Most Telegram channels referred to the DC Weekly publication, in which appeared article About the "luxurious life of Zelensky" and "spent American assistance." Such a publication on this site really exists, its author is Jessica Devlin. This publication is already It was noticed In the distribution of fakes about Ukraine - in early November 2023 there was a publication that the Elena Zelenskaya fund is supposedly connected with the trade of children. Then “verified” wrote about the author of the article about yachts: Jessica Devlin has not only a fake biography, but also a photograph belonging to a completely different person.
However, the article by DC Weekly is not the source of the story about Zelensky yachts. The site refers to the investigation of the journalist Shahzad Nasira. November 23, he published on YouTube Video dedicated to yachts allegedly bought for Zelensky, and also posted a link to the video in his account in social networks x. No other videos on the Nasir YouTube channel at the time of writing this analysis did not appear, and the channel has 129 subscribers. The profile of this author in X states that he is a journalist working on an ongoing basis for the Emirates 24/7 website. However, on this Portal There is no mention of Shahzad Nasir, no article about Zelensky yachts.
Thus, the source of the news is a video in YouTube, earlier references could not be found.
The video says that the author managed to find documents indicating the sale of two yachts: Lucky Me and My Legacy. Such yachts really exist. Lucky Me It was produced by the Italian company Baglietto and was put up for sale by Behnemar for € 23 million ($ 25.2 million). My Legacy, also produced in Italy, costs more than € 44.9 million ($ 49.4 million). It is sold by Burgess. Both yachts are still available for purchase - the Verify Air Force factory service turned to Behnemar and Burgess and found outthat no one bought yachts at the time of publication of an allegedly revealing video.
However, the author of the video substantiates his statements with the help of documents - acts on the purchase of yachts approved by the Mediterranean association of yacht brokers. As follows from the documents shown in the video, Lucky ME was bought by Boris Shefir, and My Legacy was bought by Sergey Shefir.
The Brothers Shefirs have long been familiar with Vladimir Zelensky, they were partners in the company "Studio Kvartal-95", which produces films, TV shows and television shows in Ukraine. After Zelensky in 2019 won the presidential election, Sergei Shefir became his adviser. In 2021, as a result of the leak of the "Archive of Pandora" It became knownthat Zelensky and Shefors owned their own network of offshore companies.
However, in the documents shown in the video about yachts, there are a number of inaccuracies. First of all, the Mediterranean Association of Yacht Broker does not exist Since 2008, now it is called World Yacht Association. In addition, the documents have an old logo of the organization.
Finally, in the most World Yacht Association, the agency's factory service Associated Press They said that the form of the document is outdated and such an agreement cannot be valid. Association Secretary General Jane Adlington-Brummer said that such forms have not been used since 2012, and also added that both yachts are still for sale. The template of the document presented in the video can be found in Open access - Probably, it was the author who used it.
Thus, the reports that Zelensky or people from his inner circle acquired two yachts are not true. Yachts are still on sale, and documents used as evidence are for their purchase is a fake.
Photo on the cover: Behnemar.com
- Associated Press. UKRaine’s Zelenskyy Vid Not Purchase Two Luxury Yachts in October. They’re Still Up for Sale
- Correctiv. Nein, Wolodymyr Selenskyj Kaufte Keine Luxusyachten für 75 Millionen Us-Dollar
- Is it true that Elena Zelenskaya spent € 40,000 during a visit to Paris on buying in boutiques?
- Is it true that Zelenskaya spent more than $ 1 million on jewelry during a visit to New York?
- Is it true that the Elena Zelenskaya fund is associated with the trade in children?
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