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Old 06-08-2021, 03:31   #226
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My yacht is impounded

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Originally Posted by jeepers View Post
I am sure your silence to the Spanish authorities is more of an interest, issue than to anyone else.
After reading all the comments here & the media's portrayal extent of the Global enforcement & apprehension of Majic. You need direction, results & closure!
Of course with your current SA lawyers legal advice, approval.
Not sure why you would serve the Affidavit on Interpol but you did.
With a factual cover letter. Don't victimize yourself. Certainly not an emotionally charged literary based story. You want your property released and available to be returned.
The boat was taken under false pretense.
Used in a manner not authorized or even known by yourself.
Ask for direction, resolution on the return of "Majiic", your property.
Ask if the boat is hauled out & if can be placed under a secure government seal, secured & protected by a shrink wrap cover? Pending your recovery thereof.
No admissions or literary additions (personal or otherwise). Send the cover letter notarized true copies of your Affidavit to all possible Ministeries, Departments & Official offices. eg. The Justice Ministry, Chief Prosecutor, Guardia Civil. Seeking direction, resolution & return of your property.
This is an expected response from you. It is not a cheap bicycle.


This might on the face of it seem like reasonable advice but

Many countries especially EU have “ proceeds of crime “ laws , many of them , following the British scheme have “ asset “ seizure laws especially for drug related activity.

Hence all this will have to play out before the yacht will be released .

At present the boat is the property of the Spanish state. Under Spanish law it’s not yours anymore . Sorry bout that.

Secondly , the boat was used or suspected to carry drugs. Drugs enforcement agencies will get a court order to search the boat. That search will most likely destroy the interior ( in one seizure in Ireland , the whole interior of the boat , a beautiful 80 footer , was cut up and removed to search the yacht for secret hiding places. ( these days drugs are often glassed in and the boat has to basically cut up to find it)

By all means write to the minister down , it will do absolutely no use. No one can intervene in a court case like that.

You have effectively little recourse at this point. Certainly zero recourse until the trial completes ( which could be years )
At best the state might auction it back to you to recover costs associated with the trial !!!

Note the state will not “ protect “ your asset. Even if after several years you “ manage “ to reacquire it, it’s will be effectively ruined
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Old 09-08-2021, 09:01   #227
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Re: My yacht is impounded

Much good advice above.
Here's a novel idea:
File a lien in Croatia or Spain against the boat and the temporary captain.
A good lawyer could find several legal reasons.
This should give you leverage in the eventual the disposition by auction and put the auction itself in question without directly going head to head w the Spanish authorities.
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Old 09-08-2021, 10:17   #228
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Re: My yacht is impounded

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Originally Posted by caffel View Post
Much good advice above.
Here's a novel idea:
File a lien in Croatia or Spain against the boat and the temporary captain.
A good lawyer could find several legal reasons.
This should give you leverage in the eventual the disposition by auction and put the auction itself in question without directly going head to head w the Spanish authorities.
Liens don't quite work that way. For example, if I have a mechanics lien on a house that I did some work on and the owner doesn't pay their property taxes, it gets sold at auction and I may get some or all of my money from the lien if the proceeds are more than the property tax and all senior liens. I most certainly don't get to stop the tax sale and get the house myself simply because I have a lien!

If it was that easy than no civil forfeiture case would ever result in loss of property. On a related note, I'm not that familiar with EU law so maybe there's some EU rule on this, but in general why would a Spanish court honor a Croatian lien on any property let alone property they had seized?
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Old 09-08-2021, 10:22   #229
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Re: My yacht is impounded

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Originally Posted by caffel View Post
Much good advice above.
Here's a novel idea:
File a lien in Croatia or Spain against the boat and the temporary captain.
A good lawyer could find several legal reasons.
This should give you leverage in the eventual the disposition by auction and put the auction itself in question without directly going head to head w the Spanish authorities.
A lien normally is held against the owner of the boat...the court will simply tell you pay yourself.

Plus, liens are a civil matter. The criminal court would generally supersede civil court.
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Old 09-08-2021, 10:23   #230
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Re: My yacht is impounded

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Liens don't quite work that way. For example, if I have a mechanics lien on a house that I did some work on and the owner doesn't pay their property taxes, it gets sold at auction and I may get some or all of my money from the lien if the proceeds are more than the property tax and all senior liens. I most certainly don't get to stop the tax sale and get the house myself simply because I have a lien!

If it was that easy than no civil forfeiture case would ever result in loss of property. On a related note, I'm not that familiar with EU law so maybe there's some EU rule on this, but in general why would a Spanish court honor a Croatian lien on any property let alone property they had seized?
you are broadly correct, The lien would have to be taken out in spain and since the yacht is likely forfeit to the Spainish state , it would be a simple waste of money.

Where any legal impediment might be placed in a states way to dispose of an unwanted asset , they just leave it rot in some dump of a yard . No civil servant has any interest in selling a drugs yacht , make his life hard and he does nothing
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Old 09-08-2021, 12:13   #231
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Re: My yacht is impounded

The idea of an international lien is to take the issue above the Spanish court.
Plus it doesn't interfere with any legal actions that the owner my undertake within the current proceedings under Spanish system.
Hence the appeal of this gambit.
Liens filed against any nationally registered vessel apply in every signatory jurisdiction and are notoriously hard to satisfy without a settlement between the lienholder and the possessor of the vessel.
If you were bidding at the apparently inevitable auction in Spain, how much would you offer for a vessel with a clouded title and the uncertain knowledge as to whether it would be impounded in your next port ? If you were a title insurance company, would you insure such a title as long as any lien was outstanding?
There aren't many promising paths for the owner, but this one shouldn't be expensive and has a shot at recovering some of his lost value.
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Old 09-08-2021, 12:48   #232
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Re: My yacht is impounded

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Originally Posted by caffel View Post
The idea of an international lien is to take the issue above the Spanish court.
Plus it doesn't interfere with any legal actions that the owner my undertake within the current proceedings under Spanish system.
Hence the appeal of this gambit.
Liens filed against any nationally registered vessel apply in every signatory jurisdiction and are notoriously hard to satisfy without a settlement between the lienholder and the possessor of the vessel.
If you were bidding at the apparently inevitable auction in Spain, how much would you offer for a vessel with a clouded title and the uncertain knowledge as to whether it would be impounded in your next port ? If you were a title insurance company, would you insure such a title as long as any lien was outstanding?
There aren't many promising paths for the owner, but this one shouldn't be expensive and has a shot at recovering some of his lost value.
So what exactly are you proposing to file the lien based on?

You don't take a lien out against the mechanic...it's against the boat.

But taking a lien out against your own boat will get immediately tossed if they realize what you are doing...they will tell you to pay yourself what you owe yourself.

At best you can cause the boat to be left to rot if you manage to muddy the waters enough. They aren't going to give it to you because it's too difficult to sort out.
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Old 09-08-2021, 15:41   #233
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Re: My yacht is impounded

Quote:
Originally Posted by caffel View Post
The idea of an international lien is to take the issue above the Spanish court.
Plus it doesn't interfere with any legal actions that the owner my undertake within the current proceedings under Spanish system.
Hence the appeal of this gambit.
Liens filed against any nationally registered vessel apply in every signatory jurisdiction and are notoriously hard to satisfy without a settlement between the lienholder and the possessor of the vessel.
If you were bidding at the apparently inevitable auction in Spain, how much would you offer for a vessel with a clouded title and the uncertain knowledge as to whether it would be impounded in your next port ? If you were a title insurance company, would you insure such a title as long as any lien was outstanding?
There aren't many promising paths for the owner, but this one shouldn't be expensive and has a shot at recovering some of his lost value.
Again, doesn't work that way. If you buy something that has been seized as part of a civil forfeiture all prior liens go away for the new owner. If the lienholders are lucky, they get something from the proceeds of the sale, but most certainly their lien isn't longer in effect and thy definitely don't get the property itself as you seemed to previously think. Just like if you buy a house at a tax auction. So no-one would be worried about a "clouded title", you get a free and clear title from the Spanish authorities as part of the purchase. No one would ever buy anything at auction if it was as simple as you seem to think it is.
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Old 20-10-2021, 07:10   #234
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Re: My yacht is impounded

Terrible story. How did it end?

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In 2020 I gave my mechanic permission to use our yacht so that he could accompany a charter fleet across the Atlantic. Or so he said.
Our yacht was boarded west of the Canaries and a large consignment of drugs were found on board.
He was arrested, and as far as we know our yacht is still impounded in the Canaries.
Quotes to engage a Spanish lawyer were about the same value as the yacht, so we didn't pursue the legal route.
No one has contacted us.
Can anyone offer advice as to how to reclaim our yacht?
Yacht is registered in Croatia. We live in South Africa.
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Old 20-10-2021, 08:42   #235
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Re: My yacht is impounded

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Terrible story. How did it end?
Did you see the response from gibsonh (post #214) on 7-30? That is the last heard from the OP on this strange story.
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Old 21-10-2021, 04:34   #236
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Re: My yacht is impounded

Thanks, did not notice
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Old 21-10-2021, 08:32   #237
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Re: My yacht is impounded

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Originally Posted by Dooglas View Post
Did you see the response from gibsonh (post #214) on 7-30? That is the last heard from the OP on this strange story.
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Originally Posted by Anders View Post
If I was him I would not post anything on a public forum unless it was checked by my lawyer.
One assumes the OP has since followed this advice. But yeah, I'd like to hear the end of the story.
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Old 23-10-2021, 08:45   #238
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Re: My yacht is impounded

Since he was off the agreed use and course, I would at least report it stolen or get your name clear of a vehicle used for criminal activity. Until then there is a implied complicity. I don’t really know, (kind of phrased that wrong as if I do), I am curious myself about how this is going
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Old 23-10-2021, 08:57   #239
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Re: My yacht is impounded

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Since he was off the agreed use and course, I would at least report it stolen or get your name clear of a vehicle used for criminal activity. Until then there is a implied complicity. I don’t really know, (kind of phrased that wrong as if I do), I am curious myself about how this is going
Yeah...that ship has long since sailed.
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