russian yachts in seychelles

Here are the superyachts seized from Russian oligarchs

As part of an international pressure campaign on Russia, authorities from around the world have seized more than a half-dozen superyachts belonging to billionaire oligarchs allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The yacht seizures since the Feb. 24 invasion are "just the beginning," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in March, as an international task force worked to identify further assets that can be seized or frozen.

“The Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to hold accountable those who facilitate the death and destruction we are witnessing in Ukraine,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said of the ongoing efforts in May.

Here are the superyachts government officials have seized since Russia invaded Ukraine last month.

The Justice Department announced May 5 that the Fijian government had seized billionaire oligarch Suleiman Kerimov 's 348-foot yacht Amadea. The vessel, which is valued at more than $300 million , arrived in Fiji last month. Kerimov, who's worth an estimated $14 billion and has ties to the Russian government, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department over alleged money laundering in 2018.

Special features on the sprawling yacht include a helipad, infinity pool, a jacuzzi and multiple bars, according to a report in Boat International . It can accommodate 16 overnight guests in addition to 36 crew members, the report said.

In April, Spanish law-enforcement officials seized a 255-foot yacht called the Tango, which Justice Department says is owned by oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Vekselberg is an aluminum magnate who the Treasury Department says has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Tango is worth an estimated $90 million, prosecutors said , and Vekselberg allegedly purchased it through shell companies. The 11-year-old yacht has seven staterooms and reportedly includes amenities such as a pool, gym and beauty salon .

Authorities in Italy seized a 215-foot superyacht called the Lady M this month. It's owned by Alexei Mordashov, Russia's richest businessman, and it’s estimated to be worth $27 million . The vessel, which requires a crew of 14, has six guest cabins , a pool and a gym.

But it pales in comparison to another of Mordashov's yachts, the $500 million Nord . The 464-foot vessel, which has two helipads and a waterfall and can accommodate 36 guests, was anchored this month in the Seychelles, where the U.S. and European Union sanctions don’t apply.

Italian officials also seized the 132-foot superyacht Lena, owned by the energy magnate Gennady Timchenko. Estimated to be worth $8 million, it has five cabins and can accommodate 10 guests.

SY A — short for Sailing Yacht A — is one of the world's largest superyachts. Valued at over $440 million, the 469-foot vessel, owned by the fertilizer magnate Andrey Melnichenko, has eight decks, multiple elevators, an underwater observation area and the world's tallest masts . It was seized in the Italian port of Trieste.

Authorities in Spain seized Sergei Chemezov's Valerie, a 279-foot superyacht that had been moored in Barcelona. Chemezov , a former KGB officer, heads the state conglomerate Rostec. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez touted the seizure on La Sexta television. “We are talking about a yacht that we estimate is worth $140 million,” Sanchez said.

Officials in France announced this month that they had seized the 289-foot Amore Vero, which was undergoing repairs in a shipyard near Marseille. When they arrived, authorities said, they found the crew preparing for an urgent departure, even though the repair work was scheduled to last through April. The $120 million boat, which has seven cabins , is linked to Igor Sechin, described by the U.S. Treasury Department as a close ally of Putin's.

Dareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.

How Russia’s ‘richest’ lawmaker used his partner’s secret companies to own two yachts and a Seychelles villa

Paradise Papers reveal how billionaire Andrei Skoch financed the acquisition of luxury assets including a yacht now targeted by U.S. sanctions, while offshore law firm Appleby disregarded his alleged ties to Russian criminal groups.

The $156 million, 324-foot yacht “Madame Gu” has an enclosed helicopter hangar, a gym and a beach club. It sports a Cayman Islands flag on the stern. And, at night, the hull lights up in bright blue or red.

The massive yacht’s last reported position was in the Persian Gulf, but that was three months ago, before the transponder was turned off and the vessel disappeared, according to a website that tracks marine traffic.

Why might a yacht want to keep its location secret? In the case of the “Madame Gu,” the likely answer can be found in a recent announcement by the U.S. government, and in a set of leaked files from an offshore law firm that powered Paradise Papers , a 2017 investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

The U.S. Treasury Department said last week that it had designated the vessel, along with a helicopter housed on it and a private plane, as “blocked property,” due to links to  twice-sanctioned Russian billionaire and politician Andrei Skoch. The restrictive measure bars U.S. entities from conducting any business with the yacht.

The order, which also named yachts and assets owned by other Russian elites, is intended to “degrade the key networks” they used to hide and move money around the globe, the Treasury Department said.

Skoch, whom Western media have dubbed the “richest man in the Duma,” has been a member of Russia’s national parliament since 1999.

The Paradise Papers, a trove of more than 13 million financial records leaked from offshore law firm Appleby and other sources, show that Skoch financed the acquisition of two yachts and a villa owned by his romantic partner, Elena Likhach, through a web of shell companies. In doing so, he joined a host of other Russian oligarchs — and power brokers worldwide — who control properties, boats and other luxury assets through a trusted proxy, often a relative or close friend.

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The documents show, too, the willingness of middlemen and enablers to please wealthy clients who want to keep secret their ties to valuable assets.

In 2013, an Appleby compliance officer warned two of her managers about Likhach’s association with Skoch, citing press reports linking the lawmaker to “criminal groups.”

“I believe the client appears to be one of the bad [politically exposed persons] which definitely pose a very high risk,” the officer wrote.

The managers dismissed her concerns. “I don’t see a problem with the business,” one manager wrote.

Appleby is one of the many elite firms that have provided services to powerful Russians despite their known links to the Kremlin. Other firms include American law firm Baker McKenzie and accounting giant PwC, ICIJ has previously reported.

Appleby and Skoch did not reply to ICIJ’s requests for comment.

‘Gifts’ from a billionaire

Confidential emails and ledgers show that Likhach became an Appleby client in 2007, when the firm helped her set up a Cayman Islands company with the purpose of owning a smaller yacht, worth $57 million, named “Gu”and later renamed “Lady Gulya.”

The yacht was sold in 2018, according to boating news sites, which did not provide details of the deal.

In 2012, Likhach hired Appleby to set up other shell companies : One, based in the Cayman Islands, bought “Madame Gu,” the luxury yacht identified by the U.S. government, for $277 million. Another shell, based in Jersey, managed the payroll for a 35-member crew.

Likhach also used two Seychelles shell companies to buy a villa in the island nation’s Four Seasons Resortand employ a chef and two housekeepers who were paid a monthly $6,300 salary, records show.

The request to create the Seychelles companies prompted Appleby compliance officers to examine the Russian client’s background as part of a routine due-diligence process required by law.

They described Likhach as a politically-exposed client because of her partner’s government  position.

In an internal memo, a compliance officer wrote that “gifts” from Skoch, “with whom she has children but is not married,” were also the source of funds for Likhach’s offshore activities.

The officer also noted in the memo that the Swiss lawyer representing Likhach said he “would not be able to write” the politician’s name in any document or email related to the offshore companies.

“It is possible that Elena is only holding the Company on behalf of Andrei Skoch,” the officer concluded.

Skoch made his fortune, now valued by Forbes magazine at about $6 billion, in mining, holding an indirect interest in a metal company owned by Alisher Usmanov, a sanctioned oligarch close to Putin.

Likhach’s lawyer, Stephan Arnet, confirmed that his firm provides legal services “with respect to her assets” but didn’t elaborate on the details, citing attorney-client privilege. Arnet told ICIJ in an email that the law firm is subject to Swiss anti-money laundering regulations and that “the sources of wealth of Ms. Elena Likhach are verified, among the others, by other reputable financial institutions.”

“We neither know nor represent Mr. Andrei Skoch and never did so,” Arnet added.

In 2017, ICIJ’s Paradise Papers investigation exposed secret offshore deals of politicians and fraudsters and revealed how Appleby sometimes failed to keep out questionable clients . The investigation was based on leaked documents obtained by German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared with ICIJ.

Appleby did not provide ICIJ with answers to detailed questions at the time. Instead, it released a media statement online that said the firm is committed to high standards and rejected any allegations of wrongdoing by the company or its clients.

The U.S. sanctioned Skoch for the first time in 2018, alleging he had “longstanding ties to Russian organized criminal groups,” which he has denied.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the U.S. sanctioned him again along with dozens of other politicians, businessmen and companies allegedly connected with the Kremlin. The European Union, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, where Likhach’s attorney resides, added most members of the Duma to the lists of sanctioned individuals.

Likhach, who is listed as a housewife in the leaked files, has not been sanctioned.

Tracking the Russian oligarchs logging the most miles in their multi-million dollar superyachts

Before the $325 million Amadea megayacht was thrust into a legal tussle in the South Pacific, the luxury vessel that the U.S. government claims belongs to billionaire Suleiman Kerimov embarked on an 18-day journey on its way from the Caribbean to Fiji, likely running up a fuel bill north of $500,000.

There’s speculation the superyacht was making its way to the Russian port of Vladivostok before authorities in Fiji seized it at the request of U.S. officials. The Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine by Russia has triggered rounds of financial sanctions by Washington D.C. and its allies that are aimed at punishing hundreds of oligarchs and business tycoons close to President Vladimir Putin. Various governments have gone after moguls’ villas, planes and pleasure boats — seizing more than a dozen multimillion-dollar megayachts . 

Want to interact with a tracker of yachts tied to sanctioned Russians? You can here:  https://insights.spire.com/maritime/sanctioned-russian-tycoons-yacht-tracker

That’s sent luxury vessels racing across oceans to locales that aren’t as likely to impose or enforce sanctions. Working with Spire Global Inc., an analytics firm that uses nanosatellites to collect data, Bloomberg News has been tracking the longest trips of yachts connected to Russians tycoons on sanctions lists.

Since the invasion of Ukraine, the Amadea has undertaken the longest journey and at least five other superyachts have logged voyages of some 5,000 nautical miles in their quest to reach destinations considered safe from seizures, including Turkey and Russia.

“In the past few months, we’ve seen the yachts of sanctioned Russian oligarchs travel to places they historically haven’t gone and chart more miles than they typically do,” said Simão Oliveira, a Spire web and application developer who built the yacht tracker. 

All told, the Amadea has sailed about 8,358 nautical miles since Feb. 24, clocking nearly half of the total miles it’s traveled in the past year, according to Spire’s analysis.

Amadea Lurssen Meaga Yacht with back Pool #MYS2019 #Monaco Yacht Show MegaYachts https://t.co/Nql2lKQzGC pic.twitter.com/ghjq1HwXUe — Solar Life (@SOLARLIFE) September 27, 2019

The Amadea, which features a helipad, mosaic-tiled pool and lobster tank, had been moored off the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten since around Christmas and was still there when Russia began its armed conflict in Ukraine. 

On March 12, the yacht began moving west and eventually passed through the Panama Canal, according to vessel-tracking data analyzed by Bloomberg News. From there, it headed northwest to Mexico, where it arrived at the port in Manzanillo on the country’s west coast on March 24. It anchored there for less than 24 hours — so brief that it was likely a fueling stop, said Sam Tucker, head of superyachts for maritime data provider  VesselsValue . 

The 348-foot long Amadea then made a beeline for Fiji at a cruising speed of 13 miles an hour and arrived in the port of Lautoka on April 12, apparently without the necessary permits. Fiji won a court  order  a week later to prevent the ship from leaving after it received a request for mutual legal assistance from the U.S. 

The High Court has granted an application to seize #Russian superyacht #Amadea berthed at the Lautoka wharf. #FBCNews #FijiNews #Fiji More: https://t.co/xJJEfC5HP4 pic.twitter.com/B2BSCxVO0t — FBC News Fiji (@FBC_News) May 3, 2022

Fiji’s High Court this week gave the  green light  for U.S. and local authorities to seize the Amadea. Counsel representing the ship’s registered owner, Millemarin Investments Ltd., has filed for a stay of the order, and says the ship is owned by another Russian tycoon -- not gold billionaire Kerimov as the U.S. government claims. Kerimov, worth about $15.8 billion, was sanctioned by the U.K. and the European Union in March for his ties to Putin. He was on the U.S. sanctions list in 2018.

“These yachts seem to be looking for comfortable jurisdictions where they can hide out: Seychelles, Maldives, Dubai, Fiji -- expecting them to be far enough from the reach of the sanctions,” said  Ian Ralby , chief executive of I.R. Consilium, a maritime security consultancy. “In some cases, they’re finding once they get there that they were mistaken to think these countries would be onboard with letting a Russian yacht be unbothered. They’re finding that there really is no comfortable safe haven for them.”

Track the three longest journeys here:  https://insights.spire.com/maritime/sanctioned-russian-tycoons-yacht-tracker?mmsi=319112900,319143000,319168400

The Amadea’s quest for safe shores was an expensive one. The Cayman Islands-flagged ship can sail about 10,000 nautical miles on a full tank — enough for its whirlwind voyage from the Caribbean to Fiji, said Denis Suka, a yachting influencer known as  the Yacht Mogul  who charters and helps sell vessels for clients. The yacht can carry 392,000 liters (104,000 gallons) of fuel and a full tank would cost its Russian owner about $530,000 at current diesel prices in Europe, according to Suka.

Clio, a $65 million yacht tied to Oleg Deripaska, the Russian aluminum billionaire whose connections to Putin have also put him on sanctions lists, logged the second-most miles since the invasion of Ukraine with trips totaling 7,374 nautical miles. The 239-foot yacht was in the Maldives in the Indian Ocean as scrutiny around Deripaska and other oligarchs close to Russia’s president swirled after war broke out. 

Deripaska, who has been under U.S. sanctions since 2018, sits atop an industrial conglomerate that includes a major provider of military equipment to Russia. The EU sanctioned him in April on the same day the bloc targeted Putin’s adult daughters.

A spokesperson for Deripaska said the EU sanctions against him are misguided and based on false information. While the tycoon has a minor stake in the industrial conglomerate, the companies have sold off military assets as far back as 2019 and currently do not produce any military equipment, according to the spokesperson. 

The billionaire also doesn’t own the Clio, the spokesperson said.  SuperYacht Fan , which researches and investigates yacht ownership structures of the ultra wealthy, lists Deripaska as owner of the Clio. Ownership of megayachts is often opaque and involves shell companies.

Clio, which sleeps 18 and has its own elevator, was  on the move  March 20. It broadcast it was headed to Dubai, before making a U-turn south, returned to the Maldives and then headed on a 3,000-mile journey northwest through the Suez Canal, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was last seen in the Black Sea beyond Istanbul, where a number of Russian ports would be within reach before its automatic identification system stopped broadcasting its location April 18.

The Clio carries 250,000 liters of fuel on board. A full tank would cost close to $340,000.

The 465-foot Nord — a $500 million floating palace that features two helipads, a cinema and 20 luxury cabins — is reportedly owned by sanctioned Russian steel billionaire Alexey Mordashov. The ship has logged about 6,701 nautical miles in the period — mostly on its  voyage  to get back home to Russia’s Vladivostok port in March.

The vessel had been in the Maldives and Seychelles over the winter. It left the Seychelles on March 12 and cruised toward Sri Lanka — though it took an unusual 90 degree left turn before arriving. “Perhaps this was a last minute decision to pick up provisions or spare parts,” VesselsValue’s Tucker said. The yacht arrived in Vladivostok April 11, where it’s still docked and transmitting its location, Bloomberg-compiled data show.

The boat carries 345,000 liters of fuel, and a full tank for its Russia trip would cost about $465,000, according to Suka.

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Russian oligarchs flee on superyachts to the indian ocean after biden warning.

Panicked Russian oligarchs are fleeing with their superyachts to the Maldives and Seychelles after President Biden warned, “We are coming for your ill-begotten gains.”

Biden fired a warning shot at the Russian oligarchs — the richest rulers of the nation — during his State of the Union address Tuesday, saying, “We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets.”

A growing number of superyachts belonging to Russian tycoons have made their way to the Indian Ocean, cruising around the Maldives and Seychelles, according to Bloomberg News . 

The four biggest yachts in the Maldives right now are Russian-owned. The largest, the 459-foot Ocean Victory, belongs to steel magnate Victor Rashnikov, according to SuperyachtFan.com.

On Wednesday, authorities in Germany seized Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov’s 500-foot megayacht,  the Dilbar , as part of the package of sanctions against the Kremlin and its supporters,  Forbes magazine reported .

The ship was taken by authorities in the north German port of Hamburg on Wednesday. The craft is estimated to be worth $600 million.

Billionaire Oleg Deripaska’s 238-foot yacht,  Clio ,  is headed for the Maldives from Sri Lanka. No stranger to sanctions, Deripaska was among seven Russian oligarchs sanctioned in 2018 by the   US Treasury Department.

Vagit Alekperov ,  president of Russia-based Lukoil, is reportedly sailing his yacht Galactica Super Nova from Barcelona to Montenegro, according to Marine Traffic data.

The vessel reportedly features a “a 6-meter glass-bottom swimming pool with a waterfall. And a touch-and-go helipad, an elevator, and a large beach club.”

The 465-foot  Nord , owned by Alexei Mordashov, another steel billionaire, is in the Seychelles after sailing from the Maldives. Russian banker Andrey Kostin’s Sea Rhapsody is heading to the island chain from Turkey.

Meanwhile, Roman Abramovich, who is said to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest oligarch ally, has put his London properties up for sale , and is even selling his beloved Chelsea Football Club.

British MP Chris Bryant said in Parliament in London on Monday, “He’s terrified of being sanctioned.”

Abramovich, who has always denied links to Putin, has even been in Belarus “helping with the talks” on behalf of the Russians.

A spokesperson for the Chelsea owner said, “I can confirm that Roman Abramovich was contacted by the Ukrainian side for support in achieving a peaceful resolution, and that he has been trying to help ever since.”

Meanwhile, Abramovich’s 162.5-meter superyacht Eclipse is moored in St. Maarten. The boat is equipped with a military-grade missile detection system, two helicopter pads and a submarine that is capable of submerging to 50 meters — sparking speculation that the yacht could be a refuge for Putin.

One Russian source told Page Six, “Yachts generally do not have missile detection systems or anti-missile defenses. People believe it was built for Putin. That yacht will definitely be top of the list to be seized.”

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Sanctions? What sanctions? Aleksei Mordoshov just travelled to the Seychelles in his magnificent yacht

Sanctioned billionaire Alexei Mordoshov has just taken his $500 million megayacht Nord on a 2,150-kilometer journey from the sun-kissed islands of the Maldives to Seychelles…

After a whirlwind journey over the past year, it seems Alexei Mordashov is in the mood to get away from the cold Russian winters and soak up some sunshine. Life has undoubtedly come full circle for this $500 million megayacht which set sail from the Maldives to Vladivostok around the same time in 2022. Nord spent the winters in the Maldives and Seychelles in March 2022, leaving the Seychelles to head for Sri Lanka and finally docking in Vladivostok on April 11.

The 464-foot vessel was spotted in the Maldives last week and, as eSysman Superyachts points out, is currently anchored in Victoria Harbour in the Seychelles. Nord travelled 2,151 km from the Maldives to the Seychelles. Checking her position in marine traffic, we still see that the vessel is out of range and the AIS was updated over 100 days ago. However, we can claim that the yacht is indeed in the Seychelles as the yachts in the foreground can be identified as the Sea Rhapsody, which is currently anchored in Port Victoria, Sc. A few weeks ago, Nord appeared in Hong Kong, causing anger and reactions from US officials.

After enormous pressure from the American authorities, Hong Kong succumbed and said goodbye to the floating goliath of the Russian tycoon. Nord then embarked on an unwelcome journey to Cape Town. But before she sailed closer to her destination, she fell into darkness, as usual, somewhere in the vast Indian Ocean. It seems the owner can't winter anywhere but the stunning Seychelles, a well-deserved break from the cold Russian winters.

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Russian oligarch yachts fitted with helicopter hangars, submarines, ‘anti-paparazzi’ tech, $40,000 faucets.

‘Pier’ pressure got to them.

A fleet of superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs are scrambling for safe havens — a desperate flight that comes amid extraordinary global pressure to seize and squeeze owners’ assets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russians own up to 10 percent of the global fleet of mega-yachts, according to SuperYachtNews. The oligarchy is especially fond of obnoxious showboats with over-the-top amenities straight from a James Bond thriller, including submarines, helicopter hangars, underwater observation decks and “anti-paparazzi” technology meant to prevent passengers from being photographed.

France has seized one of these vessels, with two more held by Italian authorities, while the status of another Russian superyacht in Germany is in dispute. Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska) introduced on Wednesday the Bringing Oligarch Accountability Through Seizure (BOATS) Act which specifically targets Russian superyachts.

Many of the majestic vessels are hiding in or headed for Maldives, which has no extradition agreement with the USA. Russian yachts are often found in Seychelles, long favored as an international tax haven for the superwealthy. One is there now, with another reportedly on its way, according to VesselFinder.com. The destinations of others are unknown.

Graceful, 262 feet, $100 million

Owner – Vladimir Putin, 69, President of Russia

Net worth – estimated $200 billion , which would make him the wealthiest man in the world

Last known location – Kaliningrad, Russia

Amenities – dance floor that opens to reveal a 50-foot-long indoor pool. Putin tipped his geopolitical hand when Graceful slipped away from Hamburg, Germany for Russia on the eve of the Ukraine invasion. His luxury cruiser was designed in London and its maritime signal was reportedly hacked recently, with the vessel’s name changed to FCKPTN.

Eclipse, 530 feet, $700 million

Owner – Roman Abramovich, 55, financier

Net worth – $13 billion

Last known location – Sailing northward about 35 miles west of Saint Martin/Sint Maarten

Amenities – room for three helicopters, two restaurants, plus a high-tech “anti-paparazzi” system designed to disrupt efforts to photograph passengers or its crew of 70.

The long-time Putin confidante’s stunning vessel boasts nine decks and enjoyed the distinction for many years of world’s largest superyacht. Abramovich is facing intense personal pressure because of his prominence in the soccer world. He put English Premier League club and reigning European champ Chelsea on the market this week for $4 billion.

Dilbar, 511 feet, $800 million

Owner – Alisher Usmanov, 68, steel and mining

Net worth – $18 billion

Last known location – Hamburg, Germany

Amenities – two helipads, a crew of 100, a range of 6,000 nautical miles and the largest indoor pool ever placed on a yacht, at more than 6,300 cubic feet.

Dilbar, named for Usmanov’s mom, is spectacular even by oligarch standards, reportedly the world’s largest superyacht by interior space and volume (16,000 tons). Video of the giant ship at sea, dwarfing the yachts around it, has generated 1 million views on YouTube. There are conflicting reports over whether it was seized last week by German authorities or is merely undergoing repairs in Hamburg.

Ocean Victory, 459 feet, $300 million

Owner – Victor Rashnikov, 73, steel

Net worth – $9.1 billion

Last known location – Maldives

Amenities – helicopter hangar, tender dock, six pools and an underwater observation suite for admiring aquatic life below.`

The largest of the oligarch yachts, as of Thursday, seen in and around Maldives, according to Bloomberg News. The tender dock can be flooded and anchored, allowing lesser yachts to pull up and float among Ocean Victory’s glory.

Le Grand Bleu, 370 feet, $150 million

Owner – Eugene Shvidler, 57, oil

Net worth – $1.6 billion

Last known location – Saint Maarten

Amenities – aquarium, landing craft with Land Rover 4×4 for onshore excursions, and a “veritable arsenal of tenders and watertoys”  according to  Boat International, including two sports boats capable of speeding across the water at 60 knots (69 MPH).

The oil magnate made New York City’s ‘shvit’ list in 2017, when he anchored his superyacht in front of the Statue of Liberty for two months, denying countless tourists from around the world a precious American photo op. A “ jackass move ” The Post called it. Shvidler, a Russian-born US citizen, reportedly won the vessel in a high-stakes wager against his best pal Abramovich in 2006. Le Grand Bleu was crafted “to look like a Mercedes” on the water,  said  superyacht designer Stefano Pastrovich.

Sea Rhapsody, 216 feet, $65 million

Owner – Andrey Kostin, 65, chairman VTB Bank

Net worth – $500 million

Last known location – Gulf of Suez, destined for Seychelles

Amenities – gym, infinity pool, cinema, and an array of splashy toys: wave runners, water skis, paddle boards, kayaks, waterslides, towable tubes and a “range of children’s beach toys and games.”

Looking for a family vacation? Sea Rhapsody is available for charter out of Seychelles for just $660,000 per week, with room to sleep 12 people in six state rooms.

Clio, 238 feet, $65 million

Owner – Oleg Deripaska, 54, Rusal founder

Net worth – $4 billion

Amenities – cozy sun-splashed piano lounge that seats at least 12.

Deripaska, once Russia’s richest man, is one of the few oligarchs to publicly protest Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. He’s also run afoul of American authorities, losing a 2019 lawsuit against the Treasury Department after it sanctioned him on charges of meddling in US elections. Clio’s manufacturer, Lurssen, claims the vessel is “designed for long voyages around the world and self-sufficient living for several months at a time.” It reportedly arrived in Maldives Monday.

Lady Anastasia , 157 feet, $7.7 million

Owner – Alexander Mijeev, 60, weapons industry executive

Net worth – unknown

Last known location – Mallorca, Spain

Amenities – dramatic jacuzzi on top deck above the bridge.

A minnow by the standards of superyacht leviathans, the Lady Anastasia brought global attention to the fate of the oligarch fleet when a Ukrainian crew member sabotaged the vessel last week. Taras Ostapchuk, 55, was taken into custody in Mallorca. “My boss is a criminal who sells weapons that kill the Ukrainian people,” the freedom fighter told authorities.

Sailing Yacht A, 469 feet, $600 million

Owner  – Andrey Melnichenko, 49, chemicals, coal

Net worth – $19.8 billion

Last known location – Trieste, Italy

Amenities – elevators and, allegedly, its own submarine for underwater exploration — or escape.

Sailing Yacht A compensates for lack of imagination in its name with jaw-dropping futuristic design, including three composite masts that tower above the deck more than a football field in height, believed the largest in the world. Melnichenko’s smaller boat, the 390-foot, $300 million Motor Yacht A, features gaudy bathroom faucets worth about $40,000 each, according to ClubYacht.net.

Anna, 360 feet, $250 million

Owner – Dmitry Rybolovlev, 55, fertilizers, sports

Net worth – $6.7 billion

Last known location – Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Amenities – two distinct helipads, gym and elegant state room with veranda for formal oceanview dining.

The extraordinarily sleek, streamlined vessel with military-style designs claims the honor of largest superyacht ever built in the Netherlands. It has the ability to sail 4,500 nautical miles without refueling. Anna named for the Rybolovlev’s daughter.

Royal Romance , 303 feet, $200 million

Owner – Viktor Medvedchuk, 67, Ukrainian politician

Net worth – $1 billion

Last-known location – Rijeka, Croatia

Amenities – 40-foot pool that feeds onboard waterfall, plus four sun-splashed platforms wrapped in glass.

Medvedchuk, a traitor in his homeland, is a close friend and ally of Putin. The Russian president is the godfather of Medvedchuk’s teenage daughter Daryna. The Ukrainian bureaucrat was accused of treason by his nation’s government and placed on house arrest in May. Royal Romance is “a fantastic looking ship,” gushed one yacht enthusiast as she gingerly docked on the Spanish island of Ibiza.

Nord , 465 feet, $500 million

Owner – Alexei Mordashov, 56, Severstal chairman

Net worth – $25.8 billion

Last known location – Seychelles

Amenities – helicopter hangar, two elevators, gym, sauna and cinema.

The newest superyacht in the oligarch armada, built by Lurssen , was completed and delivered to Mordashov in 2021. A prominent landing deck on the bow gives Nord the appearance from the front of a small aircraft carrier. Its operating cost is estimated by SuperYachtFan.com at $40 million to $50 million per year.

Amore Vero , 281 feet, $120 million

Owner – Igor Sechin, 61, Rosneft CEO

Net worth – up to $2.5 billion (estimated)

Last known location – Le Ciotat, France

Amenities – main deck swimming pool that converts to a helicopter platform, sundeck with a jacuzzi, VIP suites and private balconies.

Honored for “best yacht design over 50 meters” at the World Yacht Trophies, according to its builder, Oceanco. Amore Vero was seized by French authorities in a Mediterranean port on Wednesday.

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Targeting super yachts owned by Russian oligarchs could hit a nerve in Moscow

Poor transparency around ownership of assets can cause challenges, experts say.

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With sanctions levied and financial assets seized, Russian oligarchs have been scrambling to get their super yachts out of Western ports in search of safer harbours. 

One yacht, said to belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin himself, abruptly left port in Hamburg, Germany, just weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine prompted wide-reaching sanctions. Others were not so quick to leave European ports. 

Authorities in La Ciotat, on France's Mediterranean coast, seized a yacht they say is linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch Igor Sechin, the CEO of state oil company Rosneft. He was Russia's deputy prime minister from 2008 to 2012.

• Canada slaps sanctions on Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich
• Analysis With Russia pressing on and Ukraine digging in, how will Putin's war actually end?

Industry watchers say oligarchs everywhere are trying to keep their yachts from being taken.

​​"There's a few yachts that we are watching at the moment in the Atlantic," said Sam Tucker, head of super yachts at the firm VesselsValue, which tracks and estimates the value of these giant luxury yachts. 

"I'm expecting some of them to start doing U-turns in the middle of the ocean," he told CBC Radio's Day 6 .

Western countries have imposed a punishing package of sanctions and export control restrictions on Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Russia's biggest banks were hit, as was the country's central bank. Major state-owned companies and some of the country's wealthiest individuals have seen overseas assets frozen.

The investment bank JP Morgan Chase believes Russia's economy will shrink 35 per cent in the second quarter of 2022 and seven per cent for the entire year.

White House spokesperson Jen Psaki says the suite of sanctions is meant to make every aspect of life difficult on Putin and the oligarchs who protect him.

"What we're talking about here is seizing their assets, seizing their yachts and making it harder for them to send their children to go to colleges and universities in the West," Psaki said in a briefing this week. "These are significant steps that will impact the people who are closely around President Putin."

<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Putin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Putin</a>´s Yacht "The Gracefull" inbound Kaliningrad from Hamburg in anticipation of future sanctions due to the conflict in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ukraine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ukraine</a>. <a href="https://t.co/qdhAUhCH1m">pic.twitter.com/qdhAUhCH1m</a> &mdash; @GDarkconrad

Symbolic target

The yachts themselves are worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but experts in Russian sanctions say this isn't just about the dollar value.

"They don't have much value compared to the total net worth of an oligarch," said Bill Browder, a long-time advocate for stiff sanctions against Russian oligarchs, in an email to CBC Radio. 

But they are "a highly symbolic attack on something coveted by the oligarchs."

These ultra-luxurious ships became a status symbol for the oligarchs as they amassed fortunes in the 1990s and early 2000s.

"There is a bit of oneupmanship," Tucker told Day 6 . He says the biggest and most expensive ships are cloaked in secrecy. They have extreme privacy and security features, including bulletproof glass, and some require crew to sign non-disclosure agreements.

But Tucker says the biggest security and privacy feature of all is the opaque ownership structure of the yachts. He says precious little information about who actually owns these ships is available.

"[Only] basic information is disclosed — for example, the registered owner — which is often a shell company or a 'special interest vehicle' registered in Monaco, Malta, [or the] Cayman Islands," he said.

Untying those knots is a notorious problem, but one usually confined to taxation issues.

"One thing that I think may come out of this whole situation is the increased call for transparency and transparent ownership," said Tucker.

Yachts on the move

So far, only four super yachts have been seized, including a 213-foot yacht owned by Alexei Mordashov in Imperia, Italy.

While authorities sift through the byzantine paper trail of ownership, other oligarchs have scrambled their crews to get the yachts to somewhere safe.

"One of the things I've been trying to figure out is, where do they go [next]?" asked Alex Finley, a former CIA officer living in Barcelona, in an interview with  As It Happens host Gillian Findlay .

This week, Finley tweeted photos tracking a ship said to be owned by Roman Abramovich, the Russian billionaire who owns the Chelsea Football Club.

• Anxious Russians flee by the hundreds each day into neighbouring Finland

"A lot of these yachts that we've been looking at are heading towards the Maldives or the Seychelles. A few are in Montenegro, but they look like they're probably going to be on the move," Finley said in the interview .

Here you can see the sterns of both Aurora and Valerie, and in the other pic, the empty slip where Solaris used to be (which is the size of the empty hole in my heart). 7/ <a href="https://t.co/Luvj5vyWXp">pic.twitter.com/Luvj5vyWXp</a> &mdash; @alexzfinley

Neither the Maldives nor the Seychelles signed onto the sanctions, so the ships are probably safe from seizure there. Another major hub is Dubai.

"I think we're going to see Dubai as a big hotspot for these yachts," said Tucker. "It has hot weather all year round and … Russians can fly to Dubai without going through the EU airspace."

Tucker agrees that targeting the yachts is a symbolic move.

"It's really sending the message that they aren't untouchable. We've closed the skies on both sides of the Atlantic so their private jets can't operate, and now we're going after their super yachts," he said.

"I'd be feeling quite vulnerable if I was an oligarch right now."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Senior Business Reporter

Peter Armstrong is a senior business reporter for CBC News. A former host of On the Money and World Report on CBC Radio, he was previously a foreign correspondent and parliamentary reporter for CBC. Subscribe to Peter's newsletter here: cbc.ca/mindyourbusiness Twitter: @armstrongcbc

Interview with Sam Tucker produced by Rachel Levy-Mclaughlin

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Revealed: Luxury interior of Russian oligarch’s $500m superyacht after he sails it to Vladivostok ‘to evade Western sanctions’

The sumptuous interior of a sanctioned Russian oligarch’s yacht was exposed after customs officers posted a video on social media .

Alexei Mordashov’s $500 million floating palace Nord docked in Vladivostok after he reportedly feared it would be seized in the Seychelles .

Normally Moscow ’s billionaire set ply the waters of more exotic locations, and the sight of the 465ft Nord has stunned locals in Russia’s Pacific capital.

They are rushing to take selfies with the elite vessel, and customs officers who inspected the ship on arrival in port.

They were escorted around the ship by one of the crew, wearing shorts.

The video shows how well 56-year-old oligarch Mordashov - worth $21.2 billion according to Forbes - has done since he graduated from Northumbria University in England.

“We can see the interiors of several decks, Toyota Land Cruiser Prado cars, all-terrain vehicles, jet skis, motor boats, and a bathyscaphe,” said one local media account.

On a tour of the ship, a customs officer looks inside the 5-star facilities and says: “Business class room.”

The crew member corrects him saying: “First class”.

A customs man inspects one of several drinks cabinets, and comments disapprovingly: “No Russian vodka.”

The oligarch’s study was shown, and a shower room and pantry.

Mordashov is the main owner of Severstal, Russia’s largest steel and mining company.

Due to the video, the smart interior of the ocean-going yacht with its own swimming pool has been exposed for all to see.

“This is how the wealthy live even when they’re sanctioned,” said one comment.

“Mordashov won’t get any sympathy here.”

Andrey Prokopchuk, a trade unionist, said: “Previously, serious guys used to tattoo the word ‘North’ [Nord] on their arms.”

It meant they had served time in a jail in Siberia or the Arctic.

“Today our serious boys have changed and named their mega-yachts like this.”

Others were more sympathetic.

“I am amazed at the ingenuity of the owner of this beauty,” said Yulia Ivanova.

“To sail this work of art for 20 days to its native land.”

The yacht costs $50 million to run but it remains out of reach of Western countries while in Russian waters.

Another Mordashov yacht worth $71 million and property worth $116 million was seized in Italy due to EU sanctions.

“I have absolutely nothing to do with the emergence of the current geopolitical tension and I do not understand why the EU has imposed sanctions on me,” he told Russian state news agency TASS.

Nord sails under a Cayman Islands flag.

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From yachts to lavish estates, tracking Russian assets seized so far

By Tal Yellin , CNN

Published April 13, 2022

Updated April 27, 2022

Countries are on the hunt for sanctioned Russian assets after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Thousands of Russians have since been sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom, among others. Superyachts and multimillion-dollar properties have already been seized or frozen by authorities in Italy, France, Spain, the UK and Gibraltar. The United States has also launched KleptoCapture, a task force focused on those who violate sanctions and the seizing of their assets.

This interactive will continue to track known developments and help show where sanctioned Russians park their money outside of Russia. Except for Igor Sechin and Sergei Chemezov, no other oligarchs or related persons mentioned in this story responded to requests for comment from CNN.

Real estate

Other assets

April 14, 2022

“dilbar”  linked to    alisher usmanov   valued at $600-$750 million in hamburg, germany.

Germany has impounded the “Dilbar,” a superyacht connected to a Russian oligarch in Hamburg, the country’s embassy in the US tweeted . The yacht belongs to the sister of Alisher Usmanov and is worth between $600 to $750 million, according to the German Federal Criminal Police Office. Usmanov is one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires with vast domestic and international holdings. The US government sanctioned him in early March in a campaign targeting Putin’s allies, stating Usmanov is alleged to have “financial ties” to Putin. In March, Italy’s financial police seized his real estate and assets worth about $90 million. Usmanov has also been sanctioned by the European Union.

April 12, 2022

Assets  linked to    roman abramovich   valued at over $7 billion in jersey.

Authorities in the Channel island of Jersey froze more than $7 billion worth of assets “suspected to be connected to” Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, according to a government statement . The frozen assets are either located in Jersey or owned by Jersey incorporated entities, the statement said. The States of Jersey Police also executed search warrants on premises “connected to the business activities” of Abramovich. Abramovich made his fortune in steel and investments and was sanctioned by the UK in March, citing his decades-long relationship with Vladimir Putin. In a statement at the time , the UK government noted that “he is one of the few oligarchs from the 1990s to maintain prominence under Putin.” These frozen assets represent around half his net worth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index .

April 11, 2022

Properties  linked to    nikita mazepin   valued at $114.3 million in sardinia, italy.

A real estate compound, “Rocky Ram,” linked to Nikita Mazepin and his oligarch father Dmitry was seized in Sardinia, the Italian financial police confirmed in a statement. The police said the properties are worth 105 million euros (about $114.3 million). Nikita, a former Formula 1 Haas team driver, and his father were included on a list of individuals sanctioned by the EU in early March. The sanction list described Mazepin Sr. as “a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin” saying he and 36 other ”businesspeople” met with Putin and other government officials to discuss how sanctions would affect Russia. In early March, Mazepin Sr. sold his controlling stake in Uralchem Group, one of the largest producers of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers in Russia, and resigned as CEO from Uralchem JSC, a subsidiary, according to a company statement .

April 7, 2022

Assets  linked to    sanctioned russians   valued at $7.83 billion in switzerland.

Switzerland has so far frozen 7.5 billion Swiss francs (about $7.83 billion) of sanctioned Russian assets, according to a State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) spokesperson. The number of frozen assets increased from March 24, when 5.75 billion Swiss francs (about $6.18 billion) were initially frozen. Frozen assets include 11 properties throughout Switzerland. No identifiable information was revealed and no specific assets were mentioned in the initial statement. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Switzerland broke from traditional neutrality and adopted EU sanctions.

April 5, 2022

Assets  linked to    sanctioned russians   valued at $3 billion in belgium.

Belgian authorities have frozen $3 billion in Russian assets and blocked $215 billion in transactions since the start of economic sanctions, according to Belgian Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem. The frozen assets belong to 877 individuals and 62 entities on the European sanctions list, according to the statement from the Belgian Finance Ministry. The blocked transactions are the result of other restrictions imposed by the European Union on Russia.

April 4, 2022

“tango”  linked to    viktor vekselberg   valued at $90 million in mallorca, spain.

Spanish authorities seized a superyacht named “Tango,” which they say is owned by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg in Mallorca, according to a statement from the Spanish Civil Guard. The detained yacht was part of an operation with US federal agents and was carried out under a Spanish court order, the statement said. Vekselberg runs the Russian investment company Renova Group. He is worth approximately $16.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He was sanctioned by the United States and is “under investigation for tax fraud, money laundering and document forgery trying to hide the ownership of this superyacht to avoid sanctions” and is “very close to (Russian President) Vladimir Putin,” the Spanish Civil Guard said. Vekselberg’s case marks the first seizure for the newly formed US task force, KleptoCapture. The yacht is 78 meters long (about 256 feet) and is valued at nearly $90 million, per the US Department of Justice.

March 29, 2022

“phi”  linked to    a russian businessman   valued at $50 million in london, england.

The United Kingdom detained the “Phi” yacht belonging to an unnamed-Russian businessman with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian regime, according to the UK Department for Transport. The Dutch-built vessel is docked in East London’s Canary Wharf for the superyacht awards, and was planning to depart March 29. The Department of Transport claims that the ownership of the boat was “deliberately well hidden.” It sails under the Maltese flag and is registered to a company based in the Caribbean islands of St. Kitts and Nevis. The 192-foot yacht is worth approximately £38 million (about $50 million).

March 23, 2022

Assets  linked to    sanctioned russians   valued at $800 million in france.

French authorities have frozen assets linked to sanctioned Russian oligarchs valued at $800 million, according to French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal. The European Union’s latest round of sanctions in early March against Russia included measures targeting 160 oligarchs and Russian politicians. “There will be no taboo if we need to go further,” Attal said about any additional sanctions.

March 22, 2022

Assets  linked to    sanctioned russians   valued at $431 million in the netherlands.

The Netherlands has frozen nearly 392 million euros (about $431 million) in Russian assets, the Dutch Ministry of Finance told parliament in a letter seen by CNN. The ministry said that further asset freezes were expected. The European Union’s latest round of sanctions in early March against Russia included measures targeting 160 oligarchs and Russian politicians.

March 21, 2022

“axioma”  linked to    dmitry pumpyansky   valued at $75 million in gibraltar.

Authorities in Gibraltar have detained the “Axioma” yacht linked to Russian billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky, according to UK and Gibraltar government statements. Pumpyansky was sanctioned by the EU and UK and was the beneficiary of TMK PAO, Russia’s largest oil and gas steel pipe maker. He also resigned from the TMK PAO’s board of directors, the company announced . The 240-foot yacht is worth approximately $75 million, according to SuperYachtFan . Gibraltar’s ports had been closed to sanctioned individuals, but the Captain of the Port made an exception after JPMorgan Chase was granted a court order authorizing the seizure. “JPMorgan is acting pursuant to its mortgage rights,” the Gibraltar government said in a statement to CNN. JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, said in a statement in early March it was getting out of Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, citing “compliance with directives by governments around the world.”

March 18, 2022

Real estate  linked to    alexey mordaschov   valued at $116 million in sardinia, italy.

The Italian financial police seized a real estate complex belonging to Russian billionaire Alexey Mordaschov in Sardinia, according to Italy’s Prime Minister’s office. Mordaschov is the chairman of Russian mining and steel company Severstal and is one of Russia’s richest men, worth $18.5 billion, according to Forbes . The frozen real estate is worth around 105 million euros (about $116 million), per Ferdinando Giugliano, the media advisor to the Italian Prime Minister. On March 4, Mordaschov’s yacht, named “Lady M” was also seized in Italy. The 213-foot yacht is worth approximately 65 million euros (about $71 million).

March 16, 2022

“crescent”  linked to    an unknown owner   valued at $600 million in tarragona, spain.

Spanish authorities have detained a superyacht, named “Crescent” in the port of Tarragona, according to a statement from Spain’s Ministry for Transport. The 135-meter yacht flies a Cayman Islands flag and has been “provisionally detained” to establish whether it is the possession of a person or entity included in the European Council’s package of sanctions, the statement said. The yacht cost approximately $600 million, according to SuperYachtFan.

Real estate  linked to    Petr Aven   valued at $4.4 million in Sardinia, Italy

The Italian financial police froze a real estate complex belonging partially to Russian oligarch Petr Aven in Sardinia, according to a statement issued by Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s press office. The share of real estate is worth approximately 4 million euros (about $4.4 million), according to the Italian Prime Minister’s office. The billionaire stepped down earlier this month as Director of Russian private bank Alfa Bank and from the board of the investment firm he co-founded, LetterOne, after being sanctioned by the EU and UK . The European Union named Aven as “one of Vladimir Putin’s closest oligarchs,” who “regularly meet” with the Russian President in the Kremlin, and “does not operate independently of the President’s demands.”

Real estate and vehicles  linked to    Alisher Usmanov   valued at $72 million in Italy

Real estate assets and six corporate vehicles belonging to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov were seized by the Italian financial police. The seized assets are worth approximately 66 million euros (about $72 million). Usmanov is one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires with vast domestic and international holdings. The US government sanctioned him in early March in a campaign targeting Putin’s allies, stating he is alleged to have financial ties to Putin. Italy’s financial police had previously seized his real estate in the Golfo del Pevero area in Arzachena on March 4. Those assets are worth approximately 17 million euros (about $18 million).

March 15, 2022

“lady anastasia”  linked to    alexander mikheev   valued at $7 million in palma de mallorca, spain.

Spanish authorities have detained a yacht linked to Russian oligarch Alexander Mikheev, named “Lady Anastasia,” in the port of Palma de Mallorca, according to the Spanish Ministry of Transport. Mikheev is the CEO of Rosoboronexport, the only state organization in Russia that exports weapons and was sanctioned by the EU and the US. The yacht is nearly 48 meters (157 feet) long and was in the news in late February, when a crew member tried to sink the vessel in retaliation for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The yacht is worth approximately $7 million, according to a listing on BOAT International.

“Valerie”  linked to    Sergei Chemezov   valued at $140 million in Barcelona, Spain

Spanish authorities seized the “Valerie” yacht reportedly linked to Russian oligarch and former KGB agent Sergei Chemezov in the port of Barcelona, according to Reuters . Chemezov is the chairman of the Rostec conglomerate and a member of the Supreme Council of ‘United Russia’, per EU sanctions . When the US sanctioned Chemezov in 2014 — as part of an effort targeting Putin’s inner circle — the government said he had known Putin since the 1980s and the two lived in the same apartment complex in East Germany. The yacht is worth approximately $140 million and will remain “provisionally immobilized” until authorities can determine its ownership. A spokesman for Chemezov denied that he is tied to the yacht.

March 11, 2022

“sailing yacht a”  linked to    andrey melnichenko   valued at $577 million in trieste, italy.

The Italian financial police seized “Sailing Yacht A” — which could be linked to Russian fertilizer and coal billionaire Andrey Melnichenko — in the port of Trieste, according to Ferdinando Giugliano, the media advisor to the Italian Prime Minister. Melnichenko was sanctioned by the EU on March 9 and has since removed himself from the boards of two companies he founded, Eurochem and SUEK, according to his spokesman Alex Andreev in a statement to CNN. At 469 feet long, the vessel is also the world’s tallest sailing yacht — taller than the Statue of Liberty — and is worth approximately 530 million euros (about $577 million).

March 4, 2022

“villa lazzareschi”  linked to    oleg savchenko   valued at $3.3 million in lucca, italy.

A 17th century villa allegedly owned by Oleg Savchenko, named “Villa Lazzareschi,” was seized by Italian financial police in the province of Lucca, according to a police statement . Savchenko is a member of the State Duma and was sanctioned by the EU. The seized Italian villa is worth approximately 3 million euros (about $3.3 million).

Real estate  linked to    Vladimir Soloviev   valued at $8.7 million in Como, Italy

Real estate properties belonging to Vladimir Soloviev were seized by the Italian financial police in the province of Como, according to a police statement . Soloviev is a Russian pro-Kremlin propagandist and TV/radio journalist, according to EU Council sanctions . The frozen Italian real estate is worth approximately 8 million euros (about $8.7 million).

Real estate  linked to    Alisher Usmanov   valued at $18 million in Arzachena, Italy

A real estate compendium belonging to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov was seized by the Italian financial police in the Golfo del Pevero area in Arzachena, according to a statement . The frozen Italian real estate is worth approximately 17 million euros (about $18 million).

Usmanov is one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires with vast domestic and international holdings, according to the US Treasury. The US government sanctioned him in early March in a campaign targeting Putin’s allies, stating he is alleged to have financial ties to Putin. The US said it sanctioned his private jet and his 512-foot superyacht named “Dilbar.”

“Lena”  linked to    Gennady Timchenko   valued at $55 million in San Remo, Italy

The Italian financial police seized Russian billionaire Gennady Timchenko’s yacht, named “Lena,” in the port of San Remo, according to a police statement . Timchenko is the owner of private investment group, Volga Group. He was sanctioned by the EU in February. When the US government sanctioned Timchenko in 2014, an effort targeting Putin’s inner circle, they stated his “activities in the energy sector have been directly linked to Putin.” The 126-foot yacht is worth approximately 50 million euros (about $55 million).

“Lady M”  linked to    Alexey Mordaschov   valued at $71 million in Imperia, Italy

The Italian financial police seized Russian billionaire Alexey Mordaschov’s yacht, named “Lady M,” in the northern port of Imperia, according to a police statement . Mordaschov is the chairman of Russian mining and steel company Severstal and is one of Russia’s richest men, worth $18.5 billion, according to Forbes . The 213-foot yacht is worth approximately 65 million euros (about $71 million).

March 3, 2022

“amore vero”  linked to    igor sechin   valued at $120 million in la ciotat, france.

French authorities seized a yacht linked to Igor Sechin in the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat, according to the French Finance Ministry . Sechin is the CEO of Rosneft, the Russian state oil company and one of the world’s largest crude oil producers. The yacht, named “Amore Vero” — or “True Love” in Italian — was scheduled to leave the port on April 1 after arriving in January. Sechin was deputy prime minister of Russia from 2008 until 2012. The European Union said his connections to Putin are “long and deep,” with the two men maintaining daily contact. The yacht is worth about $120 million, according to SuperYachtFan. A Sechin spokesman denied that he is tied to the yacht.

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That’s Not My Yacht: Here’s How Russian Oligarchs Are Hiding $100 Million Boats

By Greg Walters

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A week after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, French officials trumpeted the impoundment of a $120 million ultra-luxurious yacht, which they said belonged to a sanctioned Kremlin insider. 

But there was a snag. The Monaco-based company that manages the yacht insisted the Kremlin insider in question, oil tycoon Igor Sechin, doesn’t own the vessel nor Kazimo, the company that it says owns the ship. 

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“The yacht is categorically not owned by Mr. Sechin, nor is he in any way connected to Kazimo (either directly or indirectly),” a spokesperson for Imperial Yachts wrote in an email to VICE News. “Kazimo’s lawyers are in active discussion with French customs.”

So it goes in the global hunt for Russian oligarchs’ mega-yachts, which Western countries announced with great fanfare after Russia invaded Ukraine last month. Locating these enormous, sea-going monstrosities is the easy part: They loom on the horizon like apartment buildings that have fallen over and somehow managed to float. The fanciest among them have multiple helipads, interior swimming pools that can turn into dance floors, elevators, gyms, and rooms for dozens of guests. 

But proving who owns them is another matter. 

Mega-yachts, private jets, and penthouses owned by ultra-wealthy individuals are often held through shell companies, which can obscure the identity of the real owner. Shady individuals, or those with reason to fear their assets could be seized, can layer multiple shell companies on top of one other in separate offshore havens to create a legal maze for investigators to sort through. 

For the moment, whenever Western officials announce action against a luxury property owned by a sanctioned Russian individual, the reaction from the wealthy Russian in question has generally been silence—creating a haze of uncertainty about whether officials have even got the right vessel. 

“Life would be much simpler if someone like Igor Sechin would just own everything in own his name, and put his picture on the side of his boat, but that’s not the world we live in,” said Adam Smith, who served in the Obama Administration as the senior advisor to the director of the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Control, the agency that administers and enforces U.S. trade sanctions. 

In the past, teams of anti-corruption activists have scoured Instagram for images posted by family members and friends of oligarch owners suspected of owning the world’s biggest yachts for clues. 

The yacht seized by French officials over alleged ties to Sechin, the Amore Vero, is hardly the only property whose ownership remains disputed or uncertain. 

The New York Times wrote an investigative story this week about a $700 million mega-yacht parked near a small Italian down on the Tuscan coast that locals have nicknamed “Putin’s Yacht,” but which is really owned by… nobody knows. 

The vessel reportedly boasts two helipads and gold-plated bathroom fixtures. Yet its link to Russian President Vladimir Putin is tenuous. The boat’s captain insisted to the Times that Putin doesn’t own the ship, and that the vessel does not belong to anyone on the sanctions list. But he added he couldn’t really say more, because he’s under a “watertight nondisclosure agreement.”

On Wednesday, British officials announced they had impounded a private jet at Farnborough Airport in Hampshire, which had arrived the week before. They said they were investigating whether the plane might be permanently leased to a Russian oil tycoon named Evgeny Shvidler. But they weren’t sure. 

Recent events have shown that owning trophy properties out in the open can be a dicey proposition for Russia’s elite. 

UK officials demonstrated the downsides this week when they slapped sanctions on Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich , the owner of the UK’s Chelsea soccer team, worth roughly $3.2 billion. The move effectively halts Abramovich’s attempts to sell the team, and leaves it unclear whether he’d ever get his money back. 

In a statement , the UK government said it’s open to a possible sale of Chelsea, but that “proceeds from any sale could not go to the sanctioned individual while he is subject to sanctions.” 

Last week, President Joe Biden used his State of the Union address to declare that the U.S. would go after oligarchs’ assets hammer and tong. 

“Tonight, I say to the Russian oligarchs and corrupt leaders who built billions of dollars off this violent regime, no more,” Biden said. “We’re joining with European allies to find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets. We’re coming for your ill-begotten gains.”

But the U.S. hasn’t yet made any major announcements about freezing or seizing any oligarchs’ assets. 

Some observers say the chest-thumping rhetoric about seizing yachts has gotten ahead of what is reasonable to expect under Western laws. 

Actually confiscating property from a sanctioned individual requires a complex and potentially lengthy court process. And wealthy Russians can often afford to lawyer up with top-shelf legal help. 

For example, the U.S. Treasury Department levied sanctions on Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska and some of his companies, including aluminum producer Rusal, in 2018. But sanctions against the companies were later lifted under former President Trump after Deripaska agreed to reduce his ownership stake. Deripaska sued to get himself personally taken off the sanctions list, too, although he lost that suit in 2021 .

So in addition to simply figuring out who owns what, Western governments targeting the assets of wealthy Russians also need to factor in the potential for stiff resistance in the courtroom. 

“When the other side has the best law firms and is ready to go to court to protect their assets, then that has to be understood as part of the process,” said Ross Delston, an independent attorney and expert on anti-money laundering compliance. “The evidence presented by the authorities must be bulletproof.”

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Italian Police Seize Russian Oligarch Andrey Melnichenko’s 468-Foot ‘Sailing Yacht A’

The list keeps growing with the impoundment of "sailing yacht a" and suspicion that "scheherazade" might be connected to vladimir putin., michael verdon, michael verdon's most recent stories, new zealand’s thrilling win gets the america’s cup off to a rip-roaring start.

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Italy’s finance police seized one of the world’s most iconic sailing yachts, owned by a Russian oligarch. Andrey Melnichenko’s Sailing Yacht A , with an estimated value of $578 million, was impounded in dry dock at the Port of Trieste, according to a statement from the Guardia di Finanzia. Melninchenko was sanctioned by the European Union on March 9 as part of a group of Russian oligarchs who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin following its Ukraine invasion to discuss the potential economic impact of EU and American sanctions.

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Melnichenko owns the major fertilizer producer EuroChem Group and SUEK, a coal company. He also owns the 390-foot Motor Yacht A. A spokesperson said in a statement that Melnichenko has nothing to do with politics and that he has removed himself from the board of Eurochem and SUEK after the EU sanctioned him. “He has no relation to the tragic events in Ukraine. He has no political affiliations,” said the statement.

US intelligence officials have also said they are trying to link the Scheherazade , a $700 million superyacht in dry dock in Italy, to Putin. The New York Times reported that the US government has made no definite conclusions about the yacht’s ownership, but believe it could be owned by the Russian president. The yacht’s captain, Guy Bennett-Pearce, told the Times that Putin had no stake in the yacht, but declined to name the owner. Bennett-Pearce said he would provide Italian police with documents that divulged the owner’s name. The Italian Sea Group, which owns the shipyard where Scheherazade is dry docked, said that, based on “checks carried out by relevant authorities,” the yacht is “not attributable to the property of Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

Roman Abramovich, who owns Solaris. last week was placed on the UK sanctions list.  Courtesy of Lloyd Werft

Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich was also added to the UK sanctions list days after he announced the sale of the football club. Abramovich, who owns a string of supercars and several private jets, also owns the superyachts Solaris and Eclipse. Solaris is reportedly sailing towards Israel, where Abramovich has dual citizenship.

On March 3, France’s finance ministry said that it had impounded Amore Vero , a yacht owned by Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian oil giant Rosneft. The EU had sanctioned Sechin earlier that week, calling him one of Putin’s “most trusted and closest advisors, as well as his personal friend.” German authorities also detained the 512-foot superyacht Dilbar in Hamburg, owned by Alisher Usmanov. Reports said the crew was fired last week. On March 5, Italian authorities impounded two yachts, Lena and Lady M , owned by Gennady Timchenko and Alexei Mordashov, respectively.

On Friday, the US State Department placed Viktor Vekselberg on its sanctions list. Two of Vekeselberg’s luxury assets, an Airbus A319-115 jet and his yacht Tango , were identified as “blocked property.”

The superyacht Scheherazade was impounded in Italy during an investigation to uncover whether it is owned by Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Video Still/YT

The seizures have prompted the superyacht industry to distance itself from the oligarchs. Italian yacht builders Sanlorenzo and Azimut both released statements that they have limited exposure to Russian clients, and none are on the sanctions list. Heesen Yachts released a statement that two Russians sitting on its supervisory board of directors have resigned their positions. The builder said Heesen is 100-percent Dutch-owned company and that Pavel Sukhoruchkin and Pavel Novoselov had nothing to do with its day-to-day operations.

Ownership of many Russian yachts is often hidden by shell companies in tax havens like the Cayman Islands. They are not only hard to trace, but actually seizing and selling them could present a legal quagmire that could take years to resolve.

Some are wondering whether seizing the oligarchs’ private yachts and jets will work. “Sanctions are another example of the West doing what it does best, which is just throwing a lot of cash at the problem and hoping it gets solved,” Olga Chyzh, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto, told the Washington Post. “However sad they are to let go of their Western assets, oligarchs have even more to lose if Putin is no longer there to protect them.”

Eclipse is another yacht owned by Roman Abramovich.  Robb Report File

In the meantime, some oligarchs are taking their yachts to destinations like the Maldives , the Seychelles and Dubai, which have no extradition treaties with the US and EU. Dubai has become a favorite destination for Russian tourism and wealth.

Alex Finley, a former CIA officer, has been tracking the yachts from Barcelona. Using the hashtag “Yacht Watch,” she posts updates on Twitter for Russian-owned superyachts.

“For me, the yachts are a big, easily recognizable symbol of the more serious side of this [Russian invasion]: These are people who support a dictator, and have been supporting him in carrying out destabilization operations against democracy, while at the same time coming here and taking all the benefits of the exact same democracies they were destabilizing,” Finley told the Washington Post.

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Photos show the luxury mega yachts that belong to Russian oligarchs — some of whom have hidden their ships as the UK ramps up sanctions.

• Sanctions targeting Russian oligarchs threaten their luxury assets — including their mega yachts.
• Many countries have implemented sanctions targeting Putin and Russian oligarchs following Russia's attack on Ukraine.
• Insider compiled a photo list of some of the luxury vessels.

Russian billionaires' assets — including their megayachts — are in danger of being seized as countries continue to impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden announced that the US will make a substantial effort to seize Russian oligarchs' assets.

"We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets," Biden said in his State of The Union address on March 1. "We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."

Since the US is not in "armed conflict" with Russia it may be legally tricky to seize assets like yachts, Insider reported . 

"The threshold for seizing assets under sanctions is that the US has to be in armed conflict with the owner of the assets," Brian O'Toole, an economic sanctions expert, tweeted last Friday. "The idea of turning Russian corruption into Ukrainian assistance is lovely but this idea is illegal, period."

It can also be difficult to find out who the owners of these yachts are.

Offshore companies typically own the luxury vessels, but enough "public speculation" pointing to a Russian oligarch as an owner is likely "sufficient for a seizure," Insider reported . 

Many of the oligarchs moved their yachts to places where they can't be seized, such as the Maldives, which does not have an extradition treaty with the US.

Insider has compiled a list of photos with mega yachts linked to Russian oligarchs.

Galactica Super Nova

Amid sanctions and seizures targeting Russian billionaires, Galactica Super Nova — said to be linked to the CEO of Russian oil firm Lukoil — is no longer detectable via ship tracker site MarineTraffic , The Daily Beast reported Thursday. 

The superyacht — whose owner is named Vagit Alekperov — had just been in Montenegro last week, Insider reported .

Alekperov is not currently the target of any sanctions. 

The yacht is almost 230 feet long and can hold up to 12 guests and 16 crew members, according to the ship maker Heesen Yachts .

The ship also has a helicopter pad that can turn into an outdoor movie theatre, also according to the ship maker.

The Amore Vero

France seized Amore Vero, a 281-foot megayacht linked to oligarch and politician Igor Sechin, on March 3.

The yacht, Amore Vero, is estimated to have a value of $120 million . It has a swimming pool that doubles as a helicopter pad and a private deck for its owner, according to Oceana , the ship maker.

Per The Wall Street Journal , officials believe that Amore Vero is "owned by a company whose majority shareholder was Mr. Sechin," though the outlet does not provide the name of the company.

Sechin is the CEO of Rosneft, Russia's oil giant, and a former deputy prime minister. A known Putin ally , he was sanctioned by both the EU and the US before France seized his yacht last week .

Sechin was one of seven oligarchs sanctioned by the UK on Thursday. 

People in Russia have referred to Sechin as "Darth Vader" and "the scariest man on Earth," according to The Guardian .

Alisher Usmanov has been sanctioned by the EU, the US, the UK, and Switzerland. His boat remains in Germany, but the country says it hasn't seized it.

Usmanov's Dilbar is "is the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage," according to Lürssen , the German ship's maker.

It's 512-foot long and weighs 15,917 tons. The ship has been docked in Germany for months undergoing a "refitting," but last week Forbes reported that it was unable to leave the dock.

Germany, however, has denied that it formally seized Dilbar.

Forbes said that "the German federal customs agency is the 'responsible enforcement authority' and would have to issue an export waiver for the yacht to leave, and that 'no yacht leaves port that is not allowed to do so.'" 

Still, multiple outlets reported that Usmanov has fired the crew on the Dilbar.

The Uzbekistan-born oligarch is a supporter of Putin. 

"I am proud that I know Putin, and the fact that everybody does not like him is not Putin's problem," Usmanov told Forbes  in a 2010 interview. 

Suleyman Kerimov was sanctioned by the US, and his son, Said Kerimov, owns ICE. The superyacht is worth is an estimated $170 million.

The Kerimov family owns the majority of Polyus Gold, Russia's biggest gold producer .

ICE was dubbed "Superyacht of the Year" in 2006 at the World Super Yacht Awards, according to Boat International . It is approximately 300 feet and has its own resident helicopter, according to Club Yacht .

Quantum Blue

Sergey Galitsky's ship, Quantum Blue, has an estimated value of $250 million and is last known to be docked in Monaco.

Galitsky is the founder of one of Russia's largest supermarket chains, Magnit.

His name is not currently on the list of sanctioned Russian oligarchs,

Though he also is not the target of any current sanctions, Vladimir Potanin's superyacht, Nirvana, is one of at least four ships docked in the Maldives .

Potanin is the Former First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and was a longtime trustee for the Guggenheim museum before stepping down on March 2, according to The New York Times . 

Nirvana is not Potanin's only superyacht, he also owns another named Barbara, according to Fortune .

Alexander Abramov's Titan, Alexei Mordashovis' Nord, and Oleg Deripaska's Clio are also located in the Maldives.

At 533 feet long, Roman Abramovich's Eclipse was the largest yacht on the globe until 2013 when the 590-foot Azzam overthrew it. 

Abramovich, once Russia's richest man , is the departing owner of Chelsea FC soccer club. He was sanctioned by the UK on Thursday along with six other oligarchs, Insider reported .

The luxury boat has a host of amenities, including two helicopter pads, a missile detection system, and a swimming pool more than 50 feet long. It also has space for up to 36 guests and 70 crew members, according to Yacht Harbour .

Insider previously reported that it is currently docked in the Caribbean .

Another yacht named Solaris is linked to Abramovich. The vessel, worth approximately $600 million, left Spain Tuesday after having been under repair since late 2021, Insider reported.

Solaris is 460 feet and can host a total of 36 guests, according to SuperYachtFan .

Tango, owned by the US-sanctioned Viktor Vekselberg, is currently located in Palma, Spain.

Tango can host up to 14 people and is 254 feet long, won the 2012 World Superyacht Awards, and has an estimated worth of $120 million, according to SuperYachtFan .

Vekselberg is a Ukrainian-born businessman who owns Renova, a Russian conglomerate, according to The Guardian .

He was one of nearly two dozen Russian oligarchs and officials that the US sanctioned on Friday.

The US Treasury Department claims that he has close ties with Putin, and has announced that assets such as his $90 million jet and his superyacht Tango have been frozen, Insider reported .

Graceful, a yacht reported to belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin, left Germany just before his invasion of Ukraine, Insider reported in early February.

—Manu Gómez (@GDarkconrad) February 9, 2022

Graceful is 270 feet long and has a saloon, gym, spa, library, and an indoor pool nearly 50 feet long that doubles as a dance floor.

Scheherazade

A mystery yacht remains untouched as the owner remains a mystery.

The owner of the 459-foot Scheherazade is suspected to be a Russian billionaire, though the owner was never publically identified, The New York Times reported .

Many people believe it belongs to Vladimir Putin, nicknaming the vessel "Putin's Yacht."

SuperYachtFan estimates the ship's value sits at $700 million.

Stella Maris

Stella Maris is linked to oil and gas tycoon Rashid Sardarov. It was last seen in Nice, France, according to The Washington Post .

The luxury vessel is priced at $75 million, is 237 feet long, and can hold up to 14 guests, per SuperYachtFan .

Sardarov is not being sanctioned. 

Sailing Yacht A

Sailing Yacht A is believed to belong to Andrey Melnichenko. The boat was seized by Spanish officials Saturday, Reuters reported .

The ship is more than 465 feet long and can hold up to 20 guests, according to SuperYachtFan . The website says that Sailing Yacht A also features an underwater observation area and has a value of more than $500 million.

Melnichenko is an EU-sanctioned Russian billionaire who works in coal and fertilizers, according to Forbes . The magazine also reported that he owns a second yacht, Motor Yacht A, which is similar to a submarine. 

Oligarch Gennady Timchenko's superyacht "Lena" was seized in the port of Sanremo, Italy on March 5, Reuters reported.

Timchenko is the owner of a private investment group, Volga Group and a shareholder of Bank Rossiya. The oligarch has been sanctioned by the EU, which describes him as a "long-time acquaintance of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin."

Timchenko was also sanctioned by the UK on February 22. 

The superyacht is valued at around 50 million euros ($54 million), Reuters reported. It has fold-down terraces, as well as an "owner's suite" which opens out onto the sea with "gull-wing doors," according to its manufacturer, Sanlorenzo.

Italian authorities also seized a $71 million super-yacht belonging to one of the wealthiest men in Russia , Alexei Mordashov. 

The 215-ft "Lady M" superyacht was seized in the Port of Imperia, northern Italy, a source confirmed to Reuters.

The yacht can accommodate up to six guests on and also has accommodation for four crew members, per the Superyacht Times .

The oligarch, who is the chairman of steel mining company, Severstal, has also been sanctioned by the EU, which says Mordashov is "benefiting from his links with Russian decision-makers." Mordashov has insisted he has "absolutely nothing to do" with Russia's attack on Ukraine. 

The Oligarch moved $1.3 billion worth of shares in travel company, TUI, to an offshore tax haven on the day he was hit by sanctions, Insider's Huileng Tan previously reported. 

He was also added to the UK government's sanctions list on March 15.

Some superyachts belonging to Russian billionaires are currently seeking refuge in the Maldives, including a yacht owned by billionaire Oleg Deripaska, Reuters reported.

The billionaire, who is also the founder of one of Russia's largest industrial groups, Basic Element, was added to the UK's sanctions list on March 10.

Also built by Lürssen, the superyacht - which is around 238 feet long - can accommodate 18 guests in nine cabins, per Superyacht Fan.

The superyacht Valerie - worth $140 million - was seized in Barcelona on Monday, Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, said on La Sexta television, per Reuters.  

Sanchez did not confirm the owner of the yacht, but two sources confirmed to Reuters that it belonged to Sergei Chemezov, who is said to be a close ally of Putin.

The oligarch, who was previously a KGB spy with Putin in the former Soviet Union, recently said that Russia would emerge victorious from Western sanctions, Reuters previously reported . 

Chemezov, who is the CEO of Russian defense conglomerate Rostec was added to the US sanctions list on March 3. 

His yacht is 279 feet long and can accommodate 17 guests in eight suites, per Superyacht Fan.

Crescent, most likely owned by Igor Sechin but also rumored to belong to Putin, was the third yacht Spain seized as the West ramps up sanctions, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The superyacht is 443-feet long and costs an estimated $600 million, according to  SuperyachtFan, which also says the vessel hosts a retractable helicopter hangar and a large pool with a glass bottom.

Lady Anastasia

Lady Anastasia is owned by Russian oligarch Alexander Mikheyev but was seized by Spain on Tuesday, according to Reuters . 

The boat is almost 160 feet long and can hold up to 10 guests, according to Yacht Harbour .

Mikheyev, who was sanctioned by the EU, is the head of a helicopters division under Rostec, New York Mag reported .

• Main content

• The Inventory

What happens when a Russian oligarch’s yacht is seized?

When French customs officers boarded the Amore Vero before dawn on Thursday (March 3), they found the crew urgently preparing to set sail—a month before the superyacht’s scheduled departure, and with repairs still unfinished. The $120 million, 289-foot yacht is believed to be owned by Russian oligarch Igor Sechin, who heads up the state-owned oil major Rosneft . The officers seized the vessel in accordance with the EU’s sanctions on Russia (pdf, in French).

The  Amore Vero  remains moored in La Ciotat , a harbor town on France’s Cote d’Azure, awaiting a fate that Benjamin Maltby , an attorney who specializes in superyacht law for the UK-based firm Keystone Law , described as “completely unprecedented.”

In the hands of harbor authorities

The unique circumstances that led to the seizure or detention of the Amore Vero in France, the Lena and the Lady M in Italy, and the Dilbar in Germany, means their fates going forward will be different from yachts seized in the past.

Maltby says it’s not uncommon for superyachts to be detained. Outside the context of international wartime sanctions, yachts are normally seized as holders of value over disputes like unpaid mooring fees. A yacht could either be chained to the dock or not, and the crew remains onboard, at the expense of the owner, performing daily maintenance duties. Once the dispute is resolved, the yacht is free to sail.

The Russian yachts are expected to remain in the custody of the harbor where they were detained. (There is no global impound lot full of the superyachts of the criminal and delinquent.) However, since the owners of the Russian superyachts are sanctioned, they can’t pay the crew, or mooring fees. Maltby says the chatter on superyacht Facebook groups suggests crews on these yachts are not confident they will be paid and have abandoned ship, or will.

Without maintenance, Maltby said, “yachts want to self destruct and left to their own devices they do deteriorate and become dilapidated very quickly.” The rubber components on the engines start to crumble. Rainwater gets in, sunlight degrades the plastic. If it’s on the water rather than on a dry dock, salt water will begin to corrode the hull. Left long enough—the duration of a war that has already proven to be longer than anyone anticipated, for example—a yacht could even sink.

The cost of maintenance, Maltby says, is usually estimated to be 10-15% of the value of a yacht. At the lower end of the range, it costs $12 million a year to maintain the Amore Vero, which neither the harbor authorities nor governments seeking to punish Vladimir Putin’s allies are likely to shoulder. Maltby posits that depending on how long the sanctions are enforced, the yachts may be treated like captured warships, kept and maintained at a minimum level to keep them from sinking and polluting the surrounding waters.

Where seized yachts owned by Russian oligarchs are being kept

Igor sechin’s amore vero.

Alisher Usmanov’s Dilbar

Alexey Alexandrovits Mordaschov’s Lady M

Gennady timchenko’s lena, other ways to lose a superyacht.

There are about 5,000-6,000 superyachts in the world, Maltby says. Of those, about 10% are owned by Russians, not all of whom, presumably, are Putin-allied oligarchs, meaning the number of superyachts subject to US and EU sanctions is likely in the dozens rather than the hundreds. And not all of those may need to be seized.

One yacht broker interviewed by the Associated Press expects a few Russian-owned superyachts will soon be sold at fire-sale prices as oligarch fortunes are wiped away by sanctions, an outcome that would likely undermine what the superyachts were conspicuous displays of in the first place. “One imagines it would hurt their pride and prestige,” Maltby said.

Other superyachts allegedly owned by Russian oligarchs have taken a different route. All vessels on the water are fitted with an automatic identification system, or AIS. Originally implemented to keep ships from bumping into each other, AIS also allows satellite tracking. On Feb. 23, days after the start of the invasion, the Amadea , disappeared from satellites off the coast of St. Maarten. The Galactica Super Nova flickered off the map seven days ago, as it left Montenegro, perhaps in the hopes that they can’t seize what they can’t find.

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Ukraine to present 'victory plan' to US - Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his troops' incursion into Russia's Kursk region is part of a "victory plan" that he will present to US President Joe Biden next month.

Speaking at a forum on Tuesday, President Zelensky said the success of the plan would depend on President Biden and on whether the US would give Ukraine "what is in this plan or not, [and] whether we will be free to use this plan, or not".

"It may sound too ambitious for some, but it is an important plan for us," he added, saying that he would also show the plan to both US presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

A number of Ukrainian troops made an incursion into Russia's Kursk region in early August, and Russia has so far seemingly been unable to repel them.

Speaking at the same forum, Ukraine's Kyiv's top military commander, Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Ukraine now controls 1,294 sq km (500 sq miles) of Russian territory and 100 settlements - although these figures have not been verified by the BBC.

Gen Syrskyi said Ukraine had no intention of holding on to the territory and that one motivation for the incursion was to distract Russia's forces away from their own offensive in eastern Ukraine. Russia is seeking to capture the town of Pokrovsk , which is an important hub and home to a key railway station.

President Zelensky also revealed that Ukraine had recently carried out the first successful test of a domestically-produced ballistic missile. He congratulated his country's defence industry, but declined to share any more details of the missile.

Although Ukraine has already used some ballistic missiles against Russia that were provided by the US, it has been working to develop the domestic production of military hardware to diminish its dependency on Western aid.

However, for now, Ukraine mostly relies on military supplies from abroad to fight Russia and repel its attacks. At the forum, President Zelensky said that Ukraine had used some newly arrived F-16 fighter jets sent by Western countries in order to intercept some of the missiles fired by Russia in recent days - but that the country would need more jets.

For the past two nights, Russia has pummelled Ukraine with a barrage of drone and missile attacks which have left several people dead and caused blackouts in various areas of the country.

Such attacks show that Moscow has no intention to stop the war, President Zelensky said: "When they want [peace talks], they don’t launch 230 air strikes."

Since the Kursk incursion, however, Russia has signalled it will not engage in any peace talks with Ukraine.

"The topic of negotiations at the moment has pretty much lost its relevance," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Ukraine strengthening positions in captured Russian territory - Zelensky

Russians tell bbc they are worried and angry at ukraine incursion.

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Crew of 'unsinkable' superyacht Bayesian questioned in Sicily

The investigation into the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, which sank last Monday off Sicily's coast, is widening to include the crew.

The investigation into the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, which sank last Monday off the town of Porticello, just outside Sicily's capital Palermo, is widening to include the crew.

Until now, James Cutfield, the 51-year-old New Zealand national captain of the Bayesian, was the primary person of interest in the investigation to determine whether the crimes of "culpable shipwreck" and "manslaughter" may have been committed.

The captain was among 15 survivors after the yacht sank at night in a storm on 19 August, killing British tech magnate Mike Lynch as well as his 18-year-old daughter Hannah and five others. Angela Barcares, Lynch's widow and owner of the company whose name the yacht is registered, is among the survivors.

The other crew members have now also been heard by magistrates, and they may also be placed under investigation alongside their captain.

Under Italian law, being under investigation doesn’t imply guilt and doesn’t necessarily lead to criminal charges.

So far, Italian prosecutors have only named Cutfield as a suspect in its manslaughter investigation into the deaths of the seven people who perished.

On Sunday, magistrates questioned all the crew members with the support of an interpreter. Hundreds of pages of notes in English will have to be translated into Italian and should arrive on the prosecutors' tables within 30 days.

James Cutfield will be heard for the third time by investigators on Tuesday afternoon at a hotel in Palermo where the crew members have been staying since the tragedy. Most of them — the boatswain, the two sailors, the chief engineer, and the three young hostesses — were due to leave Sicily on Tuesday.

The captain and first officer of the Bayesian, however, will have to wait before being allowed to leave, as they may be questioned again.

Cutfield is defended by two well-known Italian lawyers, Giovanni Rizzuti and Aldo Mordiglia.

"James Cutfield ... is determined to defend himself against the charges brought against him by the prosecution," said Rizzuti. According to legal experts, the strategy that the captain's lawyers are likely to adopt is not to let him answer the prosecutors' questions, as no one is yet aware of the results of the investigations made so far by the prosecution.

Cutfield, who has a career as an experienced skipper with a particular passion for the Mediterranean, expects to return to Majorca with his wife soon.

Bayesian hailed as 'unsinkable' like the Titanic

The testimonies of Cutfield and his deputy, Koopmans, are crucial to determining what happened and whether mistakes were made by the crew, who were allegedly taken by surprise by the storm.

Many questions remain: why did the sailing ship remain anchored just offshore when bad weather was forecast? Were the hatches open and did they take on water? Why were the passengers not warned in time?

And also, how is it possible that a 56-metre-long sailboat with a 75-metre-high mast could sink so quickly?

Among the first hypotheses of Civil Defence officials was that the sailing boat was hit by a so-called waterspout or a "downburst", a localised and powerful wind that descends from a thunderstorm and spreads quickly.

However, the overarching question investigators are asking is how a sailing ship deemed "unsinkable" by Perini Navi, the Italian shipyard that built it in 2008, was, in fact, the only one of the many boats anchored off Porticello that sank in the storm that night.

According to reports from fire brigade divers, who descended repeatedly throughout the week to carry out the difficult rescue operations and search for the missing, the boat's movable keel was partially raised.

This is essential to ensure the boat's stability, and the fact that it was partially raised may have contributed to the sinking.

Divers work to prevent fuel spillage

Meanwhile, Coast Guard divers have returned to inspect the sailing ship under the prosecutor's orders.

In addition to filming every detail of the wreck that could explain the shipwreck, they also monitored the integrity of the tanks, which hold 18,000 litres of fuel and oil.

Camper & Nicholsons, the company that is the service provider the Bayesian, is assisting the salvage company appointed to develop a plan to salvage the wreck, which rests 49 metres deep on its right side.

The priority is to empty the tank, followed by securing the boat to raise it to the surface safely.

"Our priority right now is supporting the survivors, working closely with local authorities, and assisting the crew members in ensuring their safe repatriation and return to their families," Camper & Nicholsons said in a statement Wednesday.

Correction: This article was amended on 28 August 2024 to reflect that Camper & Nicholsons does not own the Bayesian and is the service provider for the yacht instead.

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