Image Credit: The Department of Justice

Emmanuelle Votat is a judicial auctioneer specialising in the management and sale of yachts seized in criminal proceedings. She is the founder of a pioneering programme for judicial yacht asset management in France and has overseen landmark cases, including the sale of Stefania, which was confiscated in a major money laundering investigation.

In this article, she offers a complementary legal perspective on Russell Crump’s proposal for the sale of frozen vessels and outlines a European model for their ethical and strategic management.

The article “Can frozen yachts be thawed?” raises a crucial question: What can be done with yachts immobilised by international sanctions? And beyond that, how do we sustainably manage nautical assets frozen by criminal or administrative proceedings?

Russell Crump’s proposal, which I salute for its effort to challenge the status quo, deserves a broader discussion. While the yachting industry cannot indefinitely absorb the cost of these vessels lying idle, the solution cannot be purely commercial.

As a judicial auctioneer specialised in the management and sale of yachts seized in criminal proceedings, I step in when a superyacht no longer symbolises luxury but crime: trafficking, corruption, money laundering. Recently, we successfully sold Stefania, a 41-metre yacht confiscated as part of a complex criminal case.

Based on this experience, I’d like to offer a complementary perspective to the one proposed.

I. Selling frozen yachts: a partial and problematic solution

M. Crump outlines a legal mechanism by which a sanctioned yacht could be sold under strict compliance controls (source of funds, buyer’s identity), with proceeds held in escrow until sanctions are lifted. While this may seem pragmatic, it poses several legal and ethical challenges.

1. Legal ambiguity between frozen and seized yachts

·       A frozen yacht is not seized by a judge. It is blocked as an administrative measure. Ownership is not transferred, and the vessel legally still belongs to its owner.

·       Sanctioned yachts fall under international public law and diplomacy, not criminal law. They are not legally available for sale.

·       Selling such a yacht raises a paradox: how can one sell an asset whose owner has no rights to use it, yet remains its legal owner? Who receives the sale proceeds if sanctions are never lifted?

·       Crump suggests a workaround: sell the yacht, hold the money. But this creates an economic purgatory with no clear legal outcome.

2. Ethical contradiction

·       Allowing the sale of a sanctioned yacht undermines the sanction’s intent, which is to restrict access to resources.

·       The message becomes: “You can’t sail it, but you can cash out and wait.” This neutralises the sanction’s effect and introduces moral ambiguity.

3. Ignoring criminal context

·       The yacht is treated as a neutral economic asset to preserve the maritime ecosystem and industry.

·       But some yachts are fruits of crime: tools of tax evasion, corruption or money laundering. Their circulation must be re-evaluated in that context.

II. A European model for sustainable, ethical management

What we need is a European framework for judicial management of yachts, drawing from France’s model but including frozen assets when confiscation becomes legally possible.

Key pillars of this model:

·       Transparency and traceability of yacht ownership and use

·       Creation of a European Department for Seized Maritime Assets, including criminally linked and confiscated sanctioned yachts

·       Protection of yacht value during legal proceedings

·       Controlled sales and ethical use of proceeds, directed toward public funds, victim compensation or charitable causes

This is not just a technical reform. It is a strategic response to three urgent issues:

1.     Preserving high-value assets

2.     Reducing public maintenance costs

3.     Proving that the State can turn crime-related assets into public good

When sanctions lead to criminal confiscation

In cases where sanctions evolve into criminal proceedings (as is possible in some jurisdictions), we need structures ready to take over:

·       Technical management to avoid depreciation

·       Rigorous vetting of buyers and fund origins

·       Transparent, lawful resale benefiting the State or victims

Seized yachts are rising in number, due to trafficking, corruption and money laundering. If left too long in legal limbo, they become time bombs, both environmentally and financially.

By establishing a European standard of judicial yacht management, integrated into sanction mechanisms when confiscation becomes viable, we can:

·       Preserve asset value

·       Limit public expenditure

·       Restore confidence in institutions’ ability to handle criminal wealth

This is what we are doing in France, and what I propose we scale to the European level through a pioneering programme of Judicial Yacht Asset Management. Not theory. Action already underway.

Any views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are those of the author and are not intended to malign any particular individual or organisation and may not reflect the views, opinions, policies or positions of The Superyacht Group. 

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