Four of 10 people put on trial for an alleged prostitution ring aboard Savarona were convicted, but given suspended sentences.
According to the Associated Press, the Turkish newspaper Vatan states that the four men were given four to 20 months in prison by a Turkish court. They were found guilty of “encouraging” and “facilitating” prostitution aboard the 408-foot megayacht. However, the prison term was suspended due to good behavior.
Savarona was seized in in September, off the coast of Göcek, Turkey. News reports stated that officials were investigating a human trafficking and solicitation ring. It involved young girls from Russia and the Ukraine, and individuals supposedly involved in the crime were onboard the yacht. More than a dozen people, including foreign businessmen and two underage girls, were detained after the raid. Further published reports stated that a high-ranking Kazakh official and Tevfik Arif, a Kazakh-born businessman with global real estate interests, were aboard Savarona during the raid. Arif’s spokesperson denied the claims, but he was still put on trial, accused of financing a sex party.
Arif was among the six defendants who were acquitted by the court last week, according to the Associated Press.
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