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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The Supreme Court of Sweden made a decision to permanently transfer to Ukraine the sanctioned, confiscated ship Caffa, which is suspected of involvement in the export of stolen grain from temporarily occupied territories, wrote Vladyslav Vlasuk, the Ukrainian president’s envoy for sanctions policy.
"The Supreme Court of Sweden has definitively handed over to Ukraine the confiscated sanctioned vessel Caffa," Vlasuk noted on Tuesday, 4 August.
Today, 5 August, Andriy Sibiha, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, greeted the Swedish court's decision in support of confiscation and transfer to Ukraine of the vessel of Russia’s shadow fleet, Caffa.
"This is a landmark decision that sets an important precedent, demonstrating that decisive actions by law enforcement and prosecutors, in conjunction with an independent and impartial judiciary, can turn the principle of accountability into real results. We will continue to work to counter Russia's shadow fleet and its ability to earn money for its war," he added.
At the beginning of June it became known that a court in Sweden imposed a provisional arrest on the vessel Caffa, which, according to Ukrainian investigations, could be used to illegally export Ukrainian products from temporarily occupied territories. Accordingly, the court confirmed that the vessel could be transferred to Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said this is the first case where a foreign court has approved the arrest of a vessel based on a request from Ukraine for international legal assistance.
According to the investigation, the vessel Caffa repeatedly entered the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and departed from it in violation of the established procedure. Law enforcement also believes that to conceal activity, a scheme with a fake registration was used — in international databases the vessel was listed as Guinea False.
12 March 2026 year, the Office of the Prosecutor General sent a request to the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Sweden for international legal assistance. The Ukrainian side requested searches of the vessel, interrogation of the captain and crew members, and seizure of the vessel.
The prosecution noted that Swedish competent authorities began implementing the request the week after it was received. As part of the investigative actions, a search of the vessel was conducted and witnesses were questioned. After that, the court in Sweden ruled to arrest Caffa.
Then Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha noted that by confirming the vessel’s arrest, the court demonstrated that mechanisms for holding to account can effectively operate across borders. The head of the Foreign Ministry also stressed that Kyiv will continue to work with partners to "ensure accountability for those involved in illegal exploitation of Ukrainian assets and other unlawful activities."
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Верховний суд Швеції остаточно передав Україні конфісковане судно Caffa". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Bagnet.
