russian super yachts seized

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U.S. moves to claim $300M superyacht associated with ‘Russian Gatsby’

The Justice Department officially moved Monday to claim a 348-foot superyacht it says belongs to a sanctioned billionaire oligarch known as the " Russian Gatsby ."

In a civil forfeiture claim filed in federal court in New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams' office said that the $300 million vessel, the Amadea , is "beneficially owned" by Suleiman Kerimov and that the "superyacht was improved and maintained in violation of applicable sanctions against Kerimov and those acting on his behalf."

The filing contends the yacht, which has a helipad, an infinity pool, a Jacuzzi and multiple bars, should be forfeited to the U.S. government.

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Kerimov , who's worth an estimated $14 billion and has ties to the Russian government, over alleged money laundering in 2018.

He has been referred to as a "Russian Gatsby" in part because he rarely does interviews while indulging in the high life. He has hosted multimillion-dollar parties at his villas on the French Riviera, including one in 2008 that reportedly featured a performance by Beyoncé, and his car collection includes a rare Ferrari Enzo, which he once crashed into a tree in 2006.

The yacht was seized in Fiji last year as part of the work of the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, which has been going after the assets of sanctioned oligarchs in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

The court filing said officials were able to prove Kerimov's ownership by showing that he was responsible for numerous upgrades to the vessel, including a new pizza oven.

However, another oligarch, Eduard Khudainatov, maintains that he's the owner of the Amadea and has filed legal challenges for its return. Khudainatov is the former chairman and CEO of Rosneft, the state-controlled gas company in Russia, and he has not been sanctioned by the U.S. government.

The Justice Department has said in court filings that Khudainatov is a "straw owner" and that he couldn't even afford the upkeep on the Amadea and another superyacht he says he owns.

Khudainatov's lawyer, Adam Ford, sued in federal court in California seeking the yacht's return late Sunday, before the federal action Monday. The filing says the government's estimate of his client's wealth is based in part on his failure to show up on Forbes' annual billionaires list, and it contends "a magazine's list should not be the basis of, or suffice as evidence for, any U.S. government enforcement action."

Ford said in a statement, "We are confident that a neutral arbiter will order the return of the Amadea to our client."

The U.S. has worked with numerous countries to seize a number of superyachts with ties to oligarchs, whose ownership interests are often hard to prove.

Task Force KleptoCapture co-director Michael Khoo said in a statement that the forfeiture proceeding against the Amadea came "after a careful and painstaking effort to develop the necessary evidence showing Suleiman Kerimov’s clear interest in the Amadea and the repeated misuse of the U.S. financial system to support and maintain the yacht for his benefit."

“Getting to this point required extensive cooperation across the U.S. government and with foreign partners. It underscores our resolve to undertake challenging, cross-border investigations and to send a message to Russian oligarchs and their enablers: if you flout the rule of law, you can expect to pay real and meaningful consequences,” Khoo said.

Michael Kosnar is a Justice Department producer for the NBC News Washington Bureau.

Dareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.

Watch CBS News

Superyacht seized by U.S. from Russian billionaire arrives in San Diego Bay

June 27, 2022 / 3:40 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A $325 million superyacht seized by the United States from a sanctioned Russian oligarch arrived in San Diego Bay on Monday.

The 348-foot-long (106-meter-long) Amadea flew an American flag as it sailed past the retired aircraft carrier USS Midway and under the Coronado Bridge.

"After a transpacific journey of over 5,000 miles (8,047 kilometers), the Amadea has safely docked in a port within the United States, and will remain in the custody of the U.S. government, pending its anticipated forfeiture and sale," the Department of Justice said in a statement.

The FBI linked the Amadea to the Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, and the vessel became a target of Task Force KleptoCapture, launched in March to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs to put pressure on Russia to end the war in Ukraine. The U.S. said Kerimov secretly bought the vessel last year through various shell companies.

But Justice Department  officials had been stymied  by a legal effort to contest the American seizure warrant and by a yacht crew that refused to sail for the U.S. American officials won a legal battle in Fiji to take the Cayman Islands-flagged superyacht earlier this month. 

The Amadea made a stop in Honolulu Harbor en route to the U.S. mainland. The Amadea boasts  luxury features  such as a helipad, mosaic-tiled pool, lobster tank and a pizza oven, nestled in a décor of "delicate marble and stones" and "precious woods and delicate silk fabrics," according to court documents.

"The successful seizure and transport of Amadea would not have been possible without extraordinary cooperation from our foreign partners in the global effort to enforce U.S. sanctions imposed in response to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine," the Justice Department said.

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$300 Million Yacht of Sanctioned Russian Oligarch Suleiman Kerimov Seized by Fiji at Request of United States

Fijian law enforcement executed a seizure warrant freezing the Motor Yacht Amadea (the Amadea), a 348-foot luxury vessel owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. Fijian law enforcement, with the support and assistance of the FBI, acted pursuant to a mutual legal assistance request from the U.S. Department of Justice following issuance of a seizure warrant from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which found that the Amadea is subject to forfeiture based on probable cause of violations of U.S. law, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), money laundering and conspiracy.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Kerimov as part of a group of Russian oligarchs who profit from the Russian government through corruption and its malign activity around the globe, including the occupation of Crimea. In sanctioning Kerimov, the Treasury Department also cited Kerimov as an official of the Government of the Russian Federation and a member of the Russian Federation Counsel.

According to court documents, Kerimov owned the Amadea after his designation. Additionally, Kerimov and those acting on his behalf and for his benefit caused U.S. dollar transactions to be routed through U.S. financial institutions for the support and maintenance of the Amadea.

“This ruling should make clear that there is no hiding place for the assets of individuals who violate U.S. laws. And there is no hiding place for the assets of criminals who enable the Russian regime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to hold accountable those who facilitate the death and destruction we are witnessing in Ukraine.”

“Last month, I warned that the department had its eyes on every yacht purchased with dirty money,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco. “This yacht seizure should tell every corrupt Russian oligarch that they cannot hide – not even in the remotest part of the world. We will use every means of enforcing the sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine.”

“This seizure demonstrates the FBI's persistence in pursuing sanctioned Russian oligarchs attempting to evade accountability for their role in jeopardizing our national security,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI, along with our international partners, will continue to seek out those individuals who contribute to the advancement of Russia’s malign activities and ensure they are brought to justice, regardless of where, or how, they attempt to hide.”

“This seizure of Suleiman Kerimov’s vessel, the Amadea, nearly 8,000 miles from Washington, D.C., symbolizes the reach of the Department of Justice as we continue to work with our global partners to disrupt the sense of impunity of those who have supported corruption and the suffering of so many,” said Director Andrew Adams of Task Force KleptoCapture. “This Task Force will continue to bring to bear every resource available in this unprecedented, multinational series of enforcement actions against the Russian regime and its enablers.”

“The U.S. Marshals Service will continue to contribute our expertise in support of Task Force efforts to take possession of seized assets of Russian oligarchs during these forfeiture operations,” said Director Ronald L. Davis of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

The seizure was coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export controls, and economic countermeasures that the United States, along with its foreign allies and partners, has imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2 and run out of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will continue to leverage all of the department’s tools and authorities to combat efforts to evade or undermine the collective actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.

Upon receipt of a mutual legal assistance request from the United States, Fijian authorities executed the request, obtaining a domestic seizure warrant from a Fijian court.

The Amadea, International Maritime Organization number 1012531, is believed to be worth approximately $300 million or more. The yacht is now in Lautoka, Fiji.

This matter is being investigated by the FBI’s New York Field Office with assistance from the FBI Legal Attaché Office in Canberra, Australia, the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and the U.S. Embassy in Suva, Fiji.

Trial Attorney Andrew D. Beaty of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Trial Attorney Joshua L. Sohn of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section are handling the seizure. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Marshals Service provided significant assistance. The United States thanks the Fijian authorities for their cooperation in this matter.

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The U.S. seized Russian oligarchs' superyachts. Now, American taxpayers pay the price

Ayesha Rascoe

Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Stephanie Baker, senior writer at Bloomberg News, about the complications involved in seizing and maintaining superyachts owned by sanctioned Russian billionaires.

Copyright © 2022 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Here Are the Russian Oligarch Superyachts That Have Been Seized

When one helipad is not enough.

For years, many in the West lamented Russia's system of kleptocratic oligarchy while Western governments happily welcomed in the oligarchs and their gobs of cash. New York City is home to a flock of "ghost buildings," where elites from Russia—and beyond—have pied-a-terres that are seldom lit up at night because nobody is ever there. Entire neighborhoods in London were oligarched over the years, along with one of the city's flagship soccer teams, Chelsea, when Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003. But that all began to change, slowly, in 2014, as Russia engaged in naked aggression towards Ukraine. And now, with Vladimir Putin's campaign of violent terror against that country, it's all begun to come apart.

The headline-grabber in the sweeping sanctions regime imposed on Russia's elite class is the ritual seizing of the yachts. Rich people of every national origin love a big boat, but one could make the case the Russian bigwigs love a boat most of all. And some of these things are, in addition to a gross exhibition of resource-hoarding, fairly impressive feats of engineering and design. So here's a list of the oligarch superyachts that have changed hands since Putin truly crossed the line.

CNBC reports many oligarchs have begun moving their yachts to the Maldives and elsewhere in an attempt to shield them from European Union sanctions. We'll update this if any others see new ownership.

Al Raya , Alisher Usmanov

Formerly known as Dilbar , this thing is reportedly 512 feet long and weighs 15,917 tons, making it the world's largest motor yacht by weight. Forbes tells us it usually hosts a crew of 96 people. It has two helipads, a beauty salon, a gym, and 12 suites, along with the largest swimming pool ever put on a boat at 82 feet. A custom job, it reportedly took German shipbuilder Lürssen 52 months to build. Usmanov paid $600 million for it. Forbes reports that German authorities seized the vessel from a shipyard in Hamburg, where it was undergoing some renovations. Tough luck for Usmanov, an Uzbek-born mining magnate who's held stakes in telecom companies and Facebook. He's also got extensive real-estate holdings, and was once a major shareholder in London's Arsenal Football Club, adversary to fellow oligarch Abramovich's Chelsea.

Amore Vero , (allegedly) Igor Sechin

Reuters reports French authorities are the captain now of this 280-foot vessel, the name of which translates to "True Love" from Italian. The crew was reportedly preparing a hasty departure from La Ciotat, a town near Marseille in the Cote d'Azur, when French customs officers took over management. This one also has a beauty salon and a gym, and France24 reports it hosts a swimming pool that turns into a helipad . The French say that the yacht is owned by a holding company in which Igor Sechin is a the main shareholder. Sechin has been the CEO of Rosneft, the Russian state oil firm, since 2012, and is one of Putin's closest friends and advisors.

Lena , Gennady Timchenko

Careful parking your superboat in Sanremo, Italy. That’s where The Guardian tells us Gennady Timchenko, a close Putin associate, has had his $54 million yacht seized by Italian authorities. It’s 126 feet long and sleeps 10 people across five staterooms, but it’s hard to get further specifications beyond that.

Lady M , Alexei Mordashov

Ferdinando Giugliano, media adviser to the Italian prime minister, said on Twitter that Italian authorities had seized Alexei Mordashov’s 215-foot yacht in Imperia. The Guardian suggested it had been “impounded,” citing a judicial source. It does look like Mordashov, Russia’s richest man on paper, has lost access to the boat, which Forbes says Italian authorities value at $71 million and features a beauty salon, “current pool,” and, of course, a helipad. It’s actually the junior yacht in Mordashov’s fleet: he’s got a 464-footer, Nord , currently parked in the Seychelles.

Valerie , Sergei Chemezov

"Today we seized—the technical term is provisionally immobilised—a yacht belonging to one of the principal oligarchs," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. He was referring to the 279-foot superyacht Valerie , parked in Barcelona, which Spanish authorities value at $140 million. It belongs to Sergei Chemezov, an ex-KGB officer who now runs the Russian state-owned military-industrial conglomerate Rostec, a goliath that produces helicopters, armored vehicles, Kalashnikov rifles and much more. Chemezov has been sanctioned by the United States and European Union since Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Valerie reportedly has a crew of 27 people, sleeps 17 guests, and features a hammam spa, swimming pool, heli-deck, and “expansive private sundeck.” More than that, the Daily Mail reported that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez chartered the vessel in July 2021, allegedly at a price of $1,119,000 a week.

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Sorry to This Man

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

US alleges sanctioned Russian oligarch’s niece made payments for his $300M yacht

The yacht, known as the Amadea, was seized by officials in 2022, with the U.S. alleging billionaire Putin ally Suleiman Kerimov is the ultimate beneficial owner.

U.S. authorities claim to be one step closer to proving a seized $300 million mega yacht is owned by sanctioned Russian Suleiman Kerimov, according to new court filings that detail alleged payments for the boat from the oligarch’s niece.

The yacht, a 348-foot luxury vessel known as Amadea, was seized in Fiji in 2022 by local officials at the request of the United States, as part of the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to identify and seize assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Kerimov, known for throwing lavish parties and for his reportedly close relationship with Vladimir Putin, was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018. Britain and the European Union later followed suit.

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However, since the Amadea’s seizure, another Russian oligarch, Eduard Khudainatov, who is not currently under U.S. sanctions, has claimed to be the yacht’s rightful owner — an assertion U.S. authorities deny.

Prosecutors allege that new documents show Kerimov’s niece, Alisa Gadzhieva, entered into a loan agreement with the company that owns the yacht, Errigal Marine Limited, and then made two payments to Khudainatov’s holding company, Invest International Finance Ltd, Intelligence Online reported .

“The United States takes sanction evasion seriously and will use all tools at its disposal to ensure that sanctioned individuals are held accountable for their crimes,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in an earlier statement . 

The ship belongs to an array of high-value luxury items linked to Kerimov, including private jets and sportscars, like a $650,000 Ferrari that Kerimov totaled in a fiery crash on the French Riviera in 2006. 

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The yacht’s seizure followed ICIJ’s Pandora Papers, which included revelations on the offshore financial empire of Kerimov and his closest associates. The investigation showed billions of dollars flowing through opaque offshore shell companies associated with Kerimov, and covert money flows tied to oligarchs and others close to the Kremlin. It also highlighted offshore professionals who have helped oligarchs secretly buy luxury assets like yachts and jets.

Gadzhieva’s brother, Kerimov’s nephew Nariman Gadzhiev, is also under U.S. sanctions for allegedly serving as an assistant and financial facilitator for Kerimov. ICIJ’s reporting showed that, in 2012, a firm registered in Gadzhiev’s name worked with Credit Suisse to secure a $67 million loan for the acquisition of a custom-built Boeing 737 Business Jet as well as a Bombardier Global Express jet. A few years later, an article in Forbes Russia described Kerimov as owning the same kind of Boeing jet.

The Amadea, which is currently in U.S. custody, has already cost over $7 million in taxpayer funds to maintain while the legal battle plays out, The Guardian reported.  

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Russia dials up pressure on Ukraine’s Kursk offensive

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Ukraine-Russia War Updates: Moscow Hits Back in Kursk as Air War Heats Up

Moscow’s troops have retaken a few villages in a border area that Kyiv’s forces invaded last month and are also advancing steadily in eastern Ukraine.

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By Constant Méheut and Haley Willis

Constant Méheut reported from Kyiv, Ukraine.

A month and a half into its offensive into Russia’s western Kursk region , the Ukrainian Army faces difficult decisions over where best to commit its limited forces.

Moscow’s troops have begun counterattacking in the area , reclaiming a few villages and threatening Ukraine’s ability to hold onto the territory it has seized. At the same time, Russian soldiers in Ukraine have continued advancing on other parts of the front there, which Kyiv had hoped to stabilize by prompting a diversion of Russian units back home to defend Kursk.

Ukraine and Russia are also engaged in air assaults, targeting each other’s military bases and energy infrastructure as each side tries to degrade the other’s capacity to sustain the war effort. In addition, Russia continues to regularly hit civilian areas in devastating attacks that cause frequent casualties.

Here’s a closer look at the current situation on the battlefield.

Russia has begun to counterattack in Kursk.

In the past few weeks, the front line had been somewhat stable in the Kursk region, which Ukraine first invaded on Aug. 6. As Moscow sent in more troops to reinforce its defenses in the area — as many as 30,000, according to Ukrainian officials — the Ukrainian advance largely stopped and Kyiv has moved to fortify its positions along the more than 500 square miles of territory that it controlled.

But the front line has moved again in the past few days, after Moscow began a concerted counterattack last week in the area. Maps of the battlefield compiled by independent groups based on satellite images and battlefield footage show that Russian troops have regained some territory around the bulge of land seized by Ukraine.

Russian advances

Russian-claimed advances

Ukrainian-held territory

Russian advances have reclaimed territory that Ukraine captured in Kursk.

In particular, Russian forces have driven a small wedge into the western edge of the Ukrainian bulge, recapturing at least one village, Snagost, and several other settlements. Videos posted on social media and verified by The New York Times showed Russian troops raising the Russian flag in Snagost and moving freely through and clearing homes in Krasnooktyabr’skoe, a nearby settlement.

On Monday, the Russian authorities ordered the evacuation of civilians from two districts directly west of that area, suggesting plans for a counterassault there.

Ukrainian forces, too, have been on the move in recent days, pushing through another section of the border near the settlement of Novyi Put’, to the southwest of the main area of the Russian counterattack.

Verified videos posted on Thursday showed a Ukrainian engineering vehicle plowing through fortifications along the border, allowing other Ukrainian military vehicles to pass through. The next day, videos showed Ukrainian forces advancing into Russia from the point where they breached the border toward Veseloe, a village about two miles from the border.

Analysts say this may be an attempt to hamper the Russian counterattack by opening a new front on its flank, but it remains unclear whether Ukrainian troops have held onto any territory there.

Kyrylo Sazonov, a Ukrainian soldier fighting in the Kursk region, said the situation on the battlefield was shifting by the hour.

“By the time we discuss an event, the situation has likely already changed,” he told Ukrainian television on Sunday. “There’s no fixed line of contact here. For instance, some of our troops moved in with mortars to support others but walked into an ambush from three sides.”

“Both our side and the Russians are acting unpredictably,” he added.

Ukrainian troops are on the backfoot in the east.

Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi , Ukraine’s top general, said last month that one goal of Ukraine’s cross-border assault into Kursk was to compel Moscow to divert troops from the front line in Ukraine to reinforce its own border region, thus relieving pressure on Kyiv’s troops fighting in Ukraine.

But so far, Russia has withdrawn only a limited number of experienced units from the Ukrainian battlefield, according to military analysts and Western officials.

Instead, it has sought to defend its territory and launch counterattacks with combat units largely drawn from within Russia, keeping the bulk of its forces in Ukraine to press ahead with assaults, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region, which Moscow already partly controls.

That has been particularly true near Pokrovsk , a strategic eastern Ukrainian city that Russian forces have been steadily closing in on in the past few weeks despite Ukraine’s own offensive into Russia.

Russian forces are now about five miles from Pokrovsk, which is an important railway hub for the Ukrainian Army. It also sits on a key road linking several cities that form a defensive arc, protecting the part of the Donetsk region still held by Ukraine.

With water and electricity supplies cut off in Pokrovsk as the fighting gets closer, the local authorities have urged residents to evacuate immediately. The city’s population has now dwindled to 16,000 from about 62,000 in early August, according to the local authorities.

Russian advances toward Pokrovsk have slowed somewhat recently as Moscow’s troops try to break through the main Ukrainian defensive lines protecting the city. Emil Kastehelmi, an analyst from the Finland-based Black Bird Group, said those consisted of a network of trenches, anti-tank obstacles and troops on favorable terrain.

At the same time, as the Russian forces have run up against the Ukrainian defenses around Pokrovsk, they have advanced in an area farther south, toward the town of Kurakhove, from different sides.

“Russia will likely push aggressively as long as possible, as any significant gains in Donetsk have been very difficult to achieve quickly,” Mr. Kastehelmi said . “The window of opportunity is open, and they will try to exploit the recently appeared cracks in the Ukrainian defenses.”

Air assaults have intensified.

Russia is pressing ahead with its air campaign against energy infrastructure in Ukraine, with the latest attack on Tuesday targeting power plants in the northeastern Sumy region, according to the local authorities. Ukraine’s energy network has been so damaged by months of attacks that experts and officials have warned that power cuts will be unavoidable this winter.

Russia has also ramped up its air attacks on urban centers across Ukraine in recent weeks. Cities such as Kyiv, the capital, and Kharkiv , Kryvyi Rih and Poltava have been targeted in often devastating air assaults that have hit apartment buildings and a military academy .

Outgunned and outnumbered on the battlefield, the Ukrainian authorities have argued for months that one way to unsettle Russian military operations is to conduct airstrikes on military bases deep inside Russia, from where attacks are launched or prepared.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has hit oil refineries, power plants, airfields and military factories in an attempt to disrupt the logistics of the Russian military. Some attacks have also targeted urban centers, such as the Moscow area last week .

The Ukrainian forces have so far used only homemade weapons, mostly drones, to conduct aerial attacks deep inside Russia. But they have pressed their allies to let them use Western-supplied long-range and more powerful missiles to target Russia more effectively.

“We have already explained to all our partners why Ukraine truly needs sufficient long-range capabilities,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Sunday .

President Biden and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain discussed expanding Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities during a meeting at the White House on Friday , but neither leader announced any policy changes after the meeting.

Constant Méheut reports on the war in Ukraine, including battlefield developments, attacks on civilian centers and how the war is affecting its people. More about Constant Méheut

Haley Willis is a Times reporter with the Visual Investigations team, covering conflict, corruption and human rights. More about Haley Willis

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