Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy purchase two luxury yachts worth $75 million with the help of his close friends, used as proxies? No, that's not true: The two yachts are still for sale.
The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published by belvestnik.bel121 (this account seems to have vanished) on December 1, 2023, with a text overlay (translated from Russian to English by Lead Stories staff) that read:
⚡️American journalist Clayton Morris: You will be surprised to know that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy somehow managed to buy two multimillion yachts with the total cost of $75 million. 01.12.2023
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Sun Dec 3 16:38:55 2023 UTC)
The video shows as evidence for the claim a document labelled Memorandum of Agreement for the alleged purchase of two yachts named My Legacy and Lucky Me by Zelenskyy, purportedly through two friends used as proxies. The documents shown have several parts blocked out, making it difficult to examine them thoroughly. In addition, the same form is publicly available on the Internet for downloading, and could be used to produce a doctored copy.
The documents mention Burgess and BehneMar luxury yacht companies as brokers for the listings. However, both My Legacy and Lucky Me are still listed as available for sale on the companies' respective websites. Lead Stories contacted Burgess and BehneMar to confirm that they haven't been sold.
In an email to Lead Stories on December 5, 2023, BehneMar Yachting shared a statement on the alleged sale of the Lucky Me yacht:
There are statements going around that Behnemar sold the motor yacht 'Lucky Me.' These statements are totally wrong and false. We can confirm that the yacht has not been sold and is still for sale with BehneMar as the exclusive listing company.
At the time of writing, Burgess had not responded to Lead Stories' email requesting a comment.
Also, according to the video, the alleged purchase of the two luxury boats was approved by the Mediterranean Yachts Brokers Association, a worldwide yachting association. Lead Stories contacted the Mediterranean Yachts Brokers Association and will update this article should a response be received.
Redacted News, hosted by former FOX News anchor Clayton Morris and his wife Natali, originally posted the video, which was later removed and is unavailable at the moment. Lead Stories has previously debunked other false claims by Redacted News, which on YouTube presents its mission as "setting the record straight" and "bringing you the stories nobody else tells." VoxUkraine analytical platform included Morris on the list of individuals spreading disinformation about the Russian-Ukrainian war.
In the 1:54-minute-long video on TikTok, Morris presents other false claims about Zelenskyy and his family, such as Olena Zelenska's alleged shopping spree in Paris and Zelenskyy's luxurious villa in Italy, both previously debunked by Lead Stories.
