Sailing Yacht A stayed under seizure as an EU court said trust influence can mean control

In a ruling reported on 9 June 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union said ownership and control under EU sanctions cover all forms of power or influence over assets, and the seizure of Sailing Yacht A, the 143-metre sail-assisted yacht arrested in Trieste in March 2022, stayed in place.

The yacht’s registered owner, a company controlled by a trust, argued that control had passed to a second trust before sanctions were imposed, and that the beneficiaries of both trusts, which were sanctioned in any case, had no power over the assets. The Lazio Regional Administrative Court in Rome, which has heard the case since 2022, put a request to the EU court in May 2024 on whether ownership and control under EU sanctions extend to trust beneficiaries who cannot dispose of the assets.

Ownership or control by a beneficiary or a settlor (the person who sets up a trust) may be inferred from the facts, or from needlessly complex legal structures, the court added.

The answer is guidance, not a verdict on the seizure. The Lazio court still has to decide the lawsuit, and now does so with the clarification in mind.

Italian authorities estimated the yacht’s value at about US$611m (€530m) when they seized her. The estimated US$11.5m (€10m) in annual maintenance continues to be paid by local authorities, with funds from the Italian treasury.

The owners’ argument rested on timing: control moved between trusts before the sanctions. The EU court’s answer makes the structure itself part of the evidence, so a beneficiary’s or settlor’s influence can outweigh the paperwork. Sailing Yacht A remains in Trieste while the Rome court takes the case forward.