Swedish police seize luxury yacht with suspected Russian owner

Swedish police and coast guard officers confiscated a luxury yacht in Båstad on Wednesday under suspicion it was purchased with criminal proceeds, national broadcaster SVT reported Thursday.

Multiple sources with knowledge of the case told SVT the vessel’s owner is Russian. Police spokesperson Evelina Olsson confirmed the owner’s nationality but declined to specify the yacht’s value, describing it only as “high.”

The seizure was carried out under Sweden’s independent forfeiture law, which allows authorities to confiscate assets suspected of being acquired through illegal means—even without a formal criminal charge against the owner. Olsson stated investigators believe the yacht “may have been obtained with illicit funds.”

A district court will now determine whether the vessel should be permanently forfeited or returned. Police spokesperson Jimmy Modin said the financial origins of the purchase will be examined as part of the investigation.

Prosecutor Sofia Seijsing noted that forfeiture cases involving foreign nationals present additional challenges, as Swedish authorities have limited ability to obtain evidence from other countries. She acknowledged that in past cases, seizures were overturned when owners demonstrated legal income abroad, rendering the assets “not unexplained.”