Revolut Founder Sued Over Unpaid Commission on 8.5 Billion Koruna Yacht Deal

London brokerage firm Cecil Wright & Partners has filed a lawsuit at London's High Court against Revolut CEO Nikolay Storonsky, demanding payment of five percent of the value of a superyacht he purchased — a sum equivalent to roughly 8.5 billion Czech koruna, according to the Financial Times, citing court documents.

According to the lawsuit, a representative of Storonsky first approached the brokers in October 2024, initially seeking help building a new yacht for the billionaire. A year later, however, interest shifted to an already-completed vessel that could be acquired sooner. The brokers recommended a 102-meter yacht built by the German shipyard Lürssen. In January 2026, Storonsky's representative informed Chris Cecil-Wright, the brokerage's founder, that the billionaire had bought the vessel directly from the seller — Canadian entrepreneur and former hockey player Patrick Dovigi — cutting out the intermediaries.

The brokerage insists it was the decisive factor in securing the deal and is therefore entitled to a commission, even though it wasn't directly involved in the final transaction. According to the plaintiffs, Storonsky went behind the brokers' backs specifically to avoid paying their fee. A representative from the businessman's office said the claim is without merit and that Storonsky intends to fight it. The court has not yet ruled on the case.

The yacht is considered one of the most luxurious vessels in its class: according to Robb Report, it features a 7.6-meter glass-bottomed "infinity" pool, a beach club, and a gym equipped with a cryotherapy chamber for recovery at extremely low temperatures.

The vessel's ownership history has been anything but simple. It was originally commissioned by Dovigi himself, who then sold it to Brazilian banker Daniel Vorcaro. However, in November 2025, Vorcaro was arrested on suspicion of large-scale fraud amounting to the equivalent of 48 billion koruna (he denies the charges and, according to his lawyers, is cooperating with the investigation). Following the arrest, Dovigi bought the yacht back and subsequently sold it to Storonsky.

Cecil Wright & Partners has previously been involved in deals for some of the world's largest and most expensive yachts. These include the nearly 100-meter Madame Gu, linked to Russian billionaire Andrei Skoch, who was hit with Western sanctions over his support for Russia's military aggression against Ukraine and his ties to the Kremlin; his yacht is among the assets frozen abroad. The firm was also connected to a deal involving the yacht Tango, seized by Spanish authorities: the vessel belonged to sanctioned Russian-Israeli oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin — his managers reportedly tried to disguise the yacht under a false name to evade US sanctions, which led to its seizure in 2022 at the FBI's request.

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Source: novinky.cz