Mašenjka Bačić, Ema Grgić

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Vladimir Yevtushenkov, a Russian oligarch, acquired real estate on the Adriatic coast during the 2000s, which he continues to freely manage and control because he has only been sanctioned by non-EU countries.

In late Fall 2000, a Croatian company owned by Russian oligarch Vladimir Yevtushenkov purchased two islets of Frašker and Fraškerić, located off the coast of Pula. Covering a total area of approximately 135,000 m² and situated a few hundred meters from the mainland, these islets belong to the group of small, intermittently inhabited or uninhabited islands of Croatia.

On Frašker and Fraškerić there are only ruins of an old lighthouse, and construction is not permitted. Due to the crystal-clear waters that surround them, the islets are favoured stops for diving and kayaking tours.

This is not the only property Yevtushenkov owns in Croatia. His two companies purchased land on the island Mljet during the 2000s. Almost 25 years later, Yevtushenkov, who uses Croatian companies to hold his assets, has been sanctioned by several countries.

Forbes currently estimates his wealth at $1.7 billion (€1.57 billion). Yevtushenkov is the co-founder of the Russian conglomerate Sistema, which operates in various sectors such as telecommunications, real estate, media, and healthcare. After being sanctioned by British authorities in April 2022, he relinquished his management rights in the conglomerate, transferring 10 percent of the shares to his son. In addition to the British sanctions, he was sanctioned by Australia, Czechia, and New Zealand.

Croatian authorities have not imposed any restrictions on Yevtushenkov’s assets. The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, which oversees the body responsible for implementing sanctions, confirmed to Oštro that measures against Yevtushenkov’s assets have not been enforced because he hasn’t been sanctioned by the EU.

From 2000 to 2019, Yevtushenkov’s Luxembourg company, Financial Fleurs Holding, was involved in the establishment of six companies in Croatia and has since purchased real estate valued at over €14 million.

Three of these companies are still active. The Croatian Register of Beneficial Owners, lists Viktor Khoroshavtsev, a former Russian politician and former director of one of Yevtushenkov’s companies within Sistema, alongside Yevtushenkov as a beneficial owner of Financial Fleurs Holding.

Circumventing pre-emption rights

One of these companies – Frašker – purchased the islands of Frašker and Fraškerić in 2000 for 2.1 million Deutsche Marks at the time (approximately €1.07 million) from eight Pula residents who had inherited the land on the islands.

The islets are protected from any kind of changes, especially in terms of construction, under Croatian law, as the maritime property belongs to the state, making them »dead capital«. Although they may appear in ads, their sale in Croatia is not considered a desirable investment.

The first owners of the company Frašker were NED Electronic GmbH, a German company, and Financial Fleurus Holding, registered in Luxembourg and already controlled by Yevtushenkov at that time.

In December 2007, NED Electronic GmbH sold its shares in Frašker to the American company Mediterranean Real Estate for €75,000. Thus, ownership of the islets was transferred via the sale of shares in the company, although Croatia introduced a provision on the pre-emption rights for small and uninhabited islands in the country with a law amendment in 2003.

Already in 2006, the Medulin Municipality recorded the right of pre-emption for Frašker and Fraškerić. That year, the Croatian government adopted a special state programme for the protection of this right.

The Municipality of Medulin told Oštro that there had been no change of ownership with regard to the specified islands, but rather a change in the ownership of a legal entity. »Accordingly, there was no basis to use the right of pre-emption, and thus we did not receive that opportunity,« they responded, adding that the right of pre-emption first belongs to the state, then to the county, and only afterward to the municipality.

Istria County informed Oštro it could not find any record of a pre-emption right offer from the company Frašker in its archives. Additionally, we did not receive a response from the Croatian government.

According to court register data, the ownership of the company Frašker, and thus the islets of Fraškerić and Frašker, remains today in the hands of two companies – Financial Fleurus Holding owned by Vladimir Yevtushenkov, and Mediterranean Real Estate, owned by entrepreneurs with Czech addresses, Miodrag Škrbić and Nihad Hurem, as well as German entrepreneur Nedjeljko Vuković and Croatian entrepreneur Mirko Jelčić.

According to available financial reports, the company Frašker has not conducted any business activities since 2008, and its sole purpose is to hold assets, which are estimated at €1.2 million. It also has loans amounting to €2.1 million.

Complications on Mljet

The Luxembourg company Financial Fleurus Holdings established another company in Croatia in 2004, S.G.I. Management, which had no significant income or assets and was dissolved in 2016 after a request by the Financial Agency (FINA) due to a debt of HRK 231,000 (€31,000).

The other two Croatian companies owned by Financial Fleurus Holdings, established in 2004, purchased 222,000 m2 of land in the area of Korita from the Mljet Municipality for €2.8 million and 111,000 m2 in the area of Požura for €2.5 million in 2005. The Republic of Croatia initiated proceedings against the purchase of the two plots of land, claiming that they were its property and that the Municipality of Mljet was not authorised to sell them.

In 2006, the County Court issued a final judgement allowing the Republic of Croatia to register its ownership over the land in Požura. The case was also heard by the Commercial Court in Split, which likewise ruled in favour of the state’s registration, and by the Supreme Court in Zagreb.

At a cabinet meeting held in 2011, it was decided that the Croatian government was willing to negotiate with investors regarding both plots of land. In November 2018, the Mljet Municipality reached a settlement by offering them the option to purchase land in Babino Polje.

In February 2019, Financial Fleurs Holding, together with the company Goldman & Company, established a new company called Sutmiholjska Projekt, which two months later signed a contract with the Mljet Municipality to purchase a plot of land measuring 167,000 m2 for HRK 80.9 million (approximately €10.8 million). Half of this land is designated for construction intended for hospitality and tourism purposes.

Unlike the islets in the northern Adriatic, the properties on Mljet represent a potential investment, but the sanctioned oligarch currently has no projects planned for them.

Yevtushenkov did not respond to Oštro’s inquiry.