russian mega yacht

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 .

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Amadea, a superyacht, docked at the Port of Everett on Monday, April 29, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

How did a Russian oligarch’s seized superyacht end up in Everett?

Worth more than $300 million, the Amadea could soon be up for sale. But first, it came to Everett on Monday.

• Monday, April 29, 2024 1:44pm
• Local News Everett

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Inside the capture of a Russian oligarch's superyacht

The radio fizzed with static as one of the world's most expensive superyachts sailed through the mist into San Diego Bay.

"Sécurité, sécurité, sécurité… this is the inbound yacht the Amadea."

At the stern, an American flag fluttered above the boat's lavish, mosaic-lined swimming pool.

The $325m (£307m) vessel had spent most of its life touring picturesque ports in the Mediterranean. Now, under the control of US authorities, it was destined for a drab concrete wharf in an industrial harbour.

It is the most ostentatious trophy claimed by a taskforce that - in the words of US President Joe Biden - was set up to pursue Russian oligarchs' "ill-begotten gains".

The BBC has been granted exclusive access behind the scenes of a superyacht seizure.

As missiles rained down on Ukraine in the early days of the war, US prosecutor Andrew Adams was sitting in his New York office with a list of Kremlin-connected billionaires and their luxury assets.

But it looked like time was running out. On a digital map of maritime traffic, he could see superyachts linked to oligarchs making a scramble for safety - sailing towards countries where, he suspected, they believed their assets would be safe from sanctions.

Among the opulent floating targets, one "mega yacht" stood out, Mr Adams said.

The Amadea is roughly the length of a football pitch, with a helipad at one end and a 10-metre infinity pool at the other. Inside, there is a gym, beauty salon, cinema and wine cellar. There are luxury cabins for 16 guests, and accommodation for 36 crew to service their every need.

From a distance, it appears like the tip of an iceberg. Sleek, clean lines and a gleaming white facade seem to project an image of pristine purity. Simply keeping the Amadea shipshape comes at vast expense, with annual running costs estimated at £25m or more. But the ownership of the yacht, and the source of the wealth locked away in its marble floors and teak decking, remains disputed.

US investigators say billionaire Russian politician Suleiman Kerimov is the true owner. Mr Kerimov, a senator in the Russian parliament, rejects the claim.

The 56-year-old is one of the richest men in Russia, according to Forbes, which estimates that he and his family are worth $12.4bn. He made his fortune after the fall of the Soviet Union, buying up large stakes in Russian companies, including the country's biggest gas and gold producers.

The US sanctioned Mr Kerimov in 2018. The UK followed suit in March, as did the EU, which said he had supported or implemented policies which undermine the independence, stability and security of Ukraine.

The Hunt for the Russian Superyachts

The inside story of the game of cat and mouse between some of the world's most powerful nations and some of Russia's richest men.

Available now on BBC iPlayer (UK Only)

The list of Russian elites banned from spending their fortunes in Western countries had been growing since 2014, as governments tried to isolate President Putin after the annexation of Crimea. When tanks rolled into Ukraine in February, oligarchs faced renewed scrutiny.

"We're joining with European allies to find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets," President Biden announced on 1 March.

Mr Adams - a lean, blue-eyed prosecutor with the US Department of Justice - was placed at the head of a new taskforce, named KleptoCapture, dedicated to enforcing US sanctions.

He planned to use his experience tackling organised crime to honour the president's pledge.

With tactics developed in the fight against the mafia, the taskforce - which includes agents and analysts from the likes of the FBI and the US Secret Service - aims to identify high-ranking targets, find evidence of any law breaking and then "seize assets as quickly and as aggressively as we can," he said.

But two weeks after the invasion began, Mr Adams could see the Amadea "scrambling out of waters where we would normally be able to seize it".

"It became critical when it turned off its location monitor, its transponder," he said. "Essentially, the boat tried to go dark."

On 12 March, the Amadea left Antigua in the Caribbean and five days later travelled through the Panama Canal, stopping briefly in Mexico before striking out into the Pacific Ocean on 25 March.

After more than a fortnight at sea, it arrived in Fiji. The yacht was scheduled to leave for the Philippines within 48 hours, but the US believed its true destination was Vladivostok, a Russian port near the border with China and North Korea.

As it sailed through the Pacific, investigators in the US were searching for any sanction violations that could be used as a "hook" to seize the Amadea, Mr Adams said. Their goal was to prove that Mr Kerimov owned the boat, and that US dollars had been used to purchase, supply or maintain it.

Tracking down a superyacht's true owner requires more than a google search, Mr Adams said. "It can be extremely difficult to unravel who owns these vessels." Ownership is often hidden behind shell companies and trusts, registered in countries where information is "tightly controlled and not something that the US can always easily access," he said.

But Russia's war had led to a "boom of information" provided by co-operative foreign countries, including those which "historically have been viewed as opaque" - places where company ownership is hard to investigate, Mr Adams said.

It required a massive investigation in a short time, with members of the taskforce interviewing sources with knowledge of the boat's finances, and scouring bank statements and corporate records, he said.

"We were able to get that information in part because there was an enormous upswell of support for Ukraine and support for this effort."

According to US court documents, investigators unearthed evidence, which, they say, proves Mr Kerimov has owned the boat since August 2021 - three years after he was first sanctioned by the US Treasury.

"What we found was that one, Mr Kerimov owns the boat, and two, that he had substantial numbers of US dollars that flowed into the boat over the years in violation of US sanctions."

As it docked in Fiji, local authorities searched the Amadea and found records of financial transactions stretching back four months. Hours later, armed with this new information, FBI agents applied to a US judge for a warrant to seize the boat. The FBI listed their reasons for believing Mr Kerimov was the yacht's "true beneficial owner," although many of the details have been redacted in a copy published by the US government .

Mr Kerimov's representatives told the BBC that his alleged ownership of the Amadea is "denied and unproven".

A week after the boat arrived in the Pacific island, a local lawyer intervened on behalf of a company that is formally registered as the superyacht's owner. It led to a seven-week legal wrangle, as appeals against the warrant worked their way up to Fiji's supreme court.

The lawyer argued there was no evidence the yacht represented the proceeds of crime, and claimed it actually belonged to a different billionaire Russian oligarch.

Eduard Khuadainatov is the former CEO of state-owned oil giant Rosneft. He was sanctioned in June by the EU, which said he now owned one of the biggest private oil companies in Russia. He is not sanctioned in the US.

The lawyer told the Fijian court there was "undisputed evidence" that Mr Khuadainatov owned the Amadea. He is also the named owner of a $700m yacht linked to Putin, which has been frozen by Italian authorities. But the US claims he is a "straw man" - intended to conceal the identity of the true owners.

"To own several half-billion dollar yachts as a mid-tier industrialist is totally implausible," Mr Adams said.

Mr Khudainatov has not responded to requests for comment.

FBI agents flew in while the Amadea was moored in Fiji's turquoise waters in early May. Under a blazing sun, a line of men in dark suits boarded the boat as crew members wearing white polo shirts waited on deck.

Agents discovered it "looked like a luxury yacht that was on a high-speed chase across the Pacific", Mr Adams said. It had "been battened down pretty heavily", he added.

Inside, they found ornate furnishings, including chandeliers, gilded fittings and expensive artworks.

The taskforce is still calculating the total value of the luxuries, and the authenticity of the most prominent pieces are under investigation. Among them, one striking item stood out - a lavish object resembling a rare Fabergé egg. Only a few dozen were made for the Russian Imperial family, and they have come to symbolise opulence and power.

"Maybe it's a real Fabergé egg, maybe it's not a real Fabergé egg," Mr Adams said. "Time will tell."

After nearly two months tied-up beside shipping containers, the Fijian supreme court cleared the way for the US to seize the boat. It had become an international spectacle.

After the ruling in June, the island's chief of police posed for photographs on deck with US embassy officials as the Stars and Stripes fluttered overhead. The boat, which had flown the colours of the Cayman Islands, would now sail under the American flag.

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But before it could depart for the US, Mr Adams decided to replace the crew. "We needed a crew that we could rely on," he said.

After a three-week voyage, the Amadea reached the US mainland, sailing into San Diego Bay on 27 June.

It was a proud moment for the taskforce, but it was "just the beginning of a process here in the United States," Mr Adams said. "It's not the end."

For the US, the ultimate goal is to sell the boat, he said. "It's to provide funds for Ukraine."

But first, they must persuade a court that Mr Kerimov is the true owner of the boat, and that sanctions were violated to pay for it.

To prepare, investigators are analysing "terabytes of data", including bank records and masses of electronic communications, while Russian language linguists are investigating financial documents.

It is not the only superyacht caught in the taskforce's net. Days before the Amadea arrived in Fiji, FBI agents with the Spanish police seized the $90m Tango, which is owned by sanctioned billionaire Viktor Vekselberg. It remains moored in Mallorca, but Mr Adams hopes this too, can be sold to help rebuild Ukraine.

In Europe, security experts have been closely following the saga of the Tango and the Amadea. They reveal a key difference between law enforcement approaches on either side of the Atlantic.

Several oligarch-linked superyachts are being held in the EU, and one in the UK, but the boats have been frozen, rather than seized.

"In principle, if you only freeze an asset it will return to the owner at some point; if it's seized, they lose it forever," said Tom Keatinge, the director of the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute.

While the US has long-standing laws to tackle sanctions evasion and seize assets, he says authorities in London and Brussels are "struggling to design legal mechanisms" that will allow them to seize assets that have initially been frozen.

Since the invasion, the UK has sanctioned at least 1,200 people, including more than 120 oligarchs with an estimated combined net worth of over £130bn. But, where action has been taken, it has focused on freezing assets.

In March, former transport secretary Grant Shapps filmed a selfie-style video alongside a £38m yacht named Phi on the day it was detained by the National Crime Agency in London's Canary Wharf.

He said the move had "turned an icon of Russia's power and wealth into a clear and stark warning to Putin and his cronies".

But with the detention of the Phi, the UK was relying on a law with a broader scope than those used by its international allies.

The boat's owner, Sergei Naumenko, is not on any sanction list. And yet, under UK law, vessels can be detained simply for being owned or operated by somebody connected with Russia.

Guy Booth, the yacht's captain, said Mr Naumenko was "absolutely not an oligarch and he's not, as described, a close personal friend of Vladimir Putin".

"If this were an oligarch's boat, it would be four times the size," he added.

Mr Booth says the operation seemed "staged" for publicity, adding that Mr Shapps appeared to be "posing like a big game hunter who'd just shot a lion".

The Department for Transport said it stands firmly by its decision to detain the Phi, adding that the UK would "continue to act within its available powers to ratchet up the economic pressure on Russia and make life harder for Russian elites".

Mr Booth remains positive that "one day eventually we will sail off down the Thames".

As Western governments grapple with confiscating frozen assets, Mr Adams expects more countries to follow their "aggressive" approach to seizures.

"We want to make it as difficult as possible to exist as a person who can draw on the benefits of corruption in Russia and at the same time exist in fabulous luxury in the West," he said.

In the year before the invasion, the Amadea spent most of its time in Europe. It dropped anchor off the likes of Monaco, Marseilles and Montenegro, according to analysis for the BBC by Spire Global, a data and analytics provider.

Today, it is moored at the edge of a busy cargo terminal used by vast, rust-stained car carrier ships. A public park runs close to its berth, and locals have taken to sharing pictures of their glamorous new neighbour on social media.

"They should open it to the area's homeless," one person commented.

Another wrote: "I hope they sell it to help Ukrainian refugees."

What are the sanctions on Russia and are they working?

South africa row over russian superyacht's arrival.

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.  

U.S. seizes mega yacht owned by oligarch with close ties to Putin

PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain — The U.S. government seized a mega yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to the Russian president on Monday, the first in the government’s sanctions enforcement initiative to “seize and freeze” giant boats and other pricey assets of Russian elites .

Spain’s Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents descended on the yacht at the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, the capital of Spain’s Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw police going in and out of the boat on Monday morning.

The seizure was confirmed by two people familiar with the matter. The people could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. A Spanish Civil Guard spokesman confirmed that officers from the Spanish police body and from the FBI were at the marina searching the vessel Monday morning and said further details would be released later.

A Civil Guard source told The Associated Press that the immobilized yacht is Tango, a 78-meter (254-feet) vessel that carries Cook Islands flag and that  Superyachtfan.com , a specialized website that tracks the world’s largest and most exclusive recreational boats, values at $120 million. The source was also not authorized to be named in media reports and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.

The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents. All of Vekselberg’s assets in the U.S. are frozen and U.S. companies are forbidden from doing business with him and his entities.

The move is the first time the U.S. government has seized an oligarch’s yacht since Attorney General Merrick Garland and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen assembled a task force known as REPO — short for Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs — as an effort to enforce sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

Vekselberg has long had ties to the U.S. including a green card he once held and homes in New York and Connecticut. The Ukrainian-born businessman built his fortune by investing in the aluminum and oil industries in the post-Soviet era.

Vekselberg was also questioned in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and has worked closely with his American cousin, Andrew Intrater, who heads the New York investment management firm Columbus Nova.

Vekselberg and Intrater were thrust into the spotlight in the Mueller probe after the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels released a memo that claimed $500,000 in hush money was routed through Columbus Nova to a shell company set up by Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen. Columbus Nova denied that Vekselberg played any role in its payments to Cohen.

Vekselberg and Intrater met with Cohen at Trump Tower, one of several meetings between members of Trump’s inner circle and high-level Russians during the 2016 campaign and transition.

The 64-year-old mogul founded Renova Group more than three decades ago. The group holds the largest stake in United Co. Rusal, Russia’s biggest aluminum producer, among other investments.

Vekselberg was first sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018, and again in March of this year, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began. Vekselberg has also been sanctioned by authorities in the United Kingdom.

The U.S. Justice Department has also launched a sanctions enforcement task force known as KleptoCapture , which also aims to enforce financial restrictions in the U.S. imposed on Russia and its billionaires, working with the FBI, Treasury and other federal agencies. That task force will also target financial institutions and entities that have helped oligarchs move money to dodge sanctions.

The White House has said that many allied countries, including German, the U.K, France, Italy and others are involved in trying to collect and share information against Russians targeted for sanctions. In his State of the Union address, President Joe Biden warned oligarch that the U.S. and European allies would “find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets.”

“We are coming for your ill-begotten gains,” he said.

Wednesday’s capture is not the first time Spanish authorities have been involved in the seizure of a Russian oligarch’s superyacht. Officials there said they had seized a vessel valued at over $140 million owned by the CEO of a state-owned defense conglomerate and a close Putin ally.

French authorities have also seized superyachts, including one believed to belong to Igor Sechin, a Putin ally who runs Russian oil giant Rosneft, which has been on the U.S. sanctions list since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

Italy has also seized several yachts and other assets.

Italian financial police moved quickly seizing the superyacht “Lena” belonging to Gennady Timchenko, an oligarch close to Putin, in the port of San Remo; the 65-meter (215-foot) “Lady M” owned by Alexei Mordashov in nearby Imperia, featuring six suites and estimated to be worth 65 million euros; as well as villas in Tuscany and Como, according to government officials.

Para reported from Madrid and Balsamo reported from Washington.

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Every Russian Oligarch Yacht Seized So Far—In Pictures

Before the invasion of Ukraine, the world was a playground for the Russian mega-rich.

Now, Russian oligarchs are struggling to hold on to their wealth, as their private jets and superyachts get seized and their properties impounded as a result of the heavy sanctions much of the world has imposed on the circle of billionaires around Vladimir Putin .

Since the European Union started imposing sanctions on an increasing number of Russian oligarchs, the list of luxury superyachts owned by Russian billionaires seized by authorities has steadily kept on growing.

Here's a breakdown.

On March 2, French authorities seized a yacht they said belonged to Rosneft's boss Igor Sechin in the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat.

The owner of Amore Vero wasn't formally Sechin, but French authorities said they found him to be the main shareholder.

On the same day, news spread that German authorities had seized a luxury yacht owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov. But German officials denied that the Dilbar , a $600 million yacht named after the billionaire's mother, had been seized in Hamburg.

The yacht, over 490 feet long and boasting an 80-foot swimming pool, two helipads and a garden, is now simply blocked in the northern port and is not allowed to leave.

Usmanov is one of the richest men in Russia and the world, with an estimated worth of $14.2 billion. The European Union has frozen his assets and described him as "pro-Kremlin oligarch with particularly close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin."

On March 14 in Barcelona, Spanish police seized a $140 million yacht belonging to Sergei Chemezov, a former KGB officer who now heads the state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec. Following the seizure, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez promised "there will be more."

The Valerie , a 280-foot yacht, is technically registered to Chemezov's stepdaughter Anastasia Ignatova. She is under U.S. sanctions, as is Chemezov and his wife.

The next day, Spanish authorities seized Lady Anastasia , reportedly owned by Alexander Mikheyev, in Mallorca. Mikheyev, director of Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport, is under EU sanctions.

A day later, Spain seized another yacht believed to belong to Sechin, the 440-foot-long Crescent , in the port of Tarragona in Catalonia.

Since the beginning of March, Italy has seized three yachts belonging to Russian oligarchs.

Lady M , owned by steel magnate Alexey Mordashov, Russia's richest man, was seized in the port of Imperia on the same day as Lena , belonging to oil and gas mogul Gennady Timchenko, was seized in the port of Sanremo.

Lady M , formally registered in the Cayman Islands, has been docked in Imperia since January. The yacht is equipped with a beauty salon and a helicopter pad.

Lena , registered in the British Virgin Islands, has been in Sanremo since November 2021.

On March 12, Italian authorities seized Andrey Melnichenko's Sailing Yacht A , a $580 million yacht docked at the port of Trieste. Coal and fertilizer magnate Melnichenko was sanctioned by the EU on March 9.

The Ragnar , another superyacht owned by Russian oligarch and former KGB agent Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, wasn't confiscated, but it's stuck in Norway because nobody will sell it fuel to leave.

According to Croatian media reports, Viktor Medvedchuk's 300-foot mega yacht, The Royal Romance, was seized in the bay of Rijeka on Wednesday. Medvedchuk is leader of Ukraine's main pro-Russia party.

More yachts owned by Russian oligarchs and currently docked around Europe could yet be seized, as not all billionaires have been sanctioned by the EU and the ownership of some yachts is yet to be determined.

Those Russian oligarchs whose yachts haven't been seized are scrambling to take them far away from the grasp of European authorities, although they're running out of safe havens to hide their luxury vessels.

At least five Russian billionaires have moved their yachts to the Maldives as the EU imposed sanctions, ship-tracking data has shown. In early March, five superyachts were reportedly harbored in the Maldives, which doesn't have an extradition treaty with the U.S.

About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on U.S. and European politics, global affairs and housing. She has covered the ups and downs of the U.S. housing market extensively, as well as given in-depth insights into the unfolding war in Ukraine. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate of Nottingham Trent University. Languages: English, Italian, French.

You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing [email protected].

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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.

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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.

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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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UPDATE: Fate Of Russian Billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s Mega-Yacht In Germany Uncertain

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Alisher Usmanov's Dilbar yacht.

CORRECTION (March 3): According to the Ministry for Economy and Innovation in the German state of Hamburg, the country’s authorities have not seized the Dilbar, a 512-foot yacht owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov. As Forbes reported on Wednesday, work on the ship has been halted at the Hamburg shipyard where it has been stationed for refitting work since October.

Three sources had told Forbes it had been seized, but a representative for Usmanov cited the statement from the ministry in Hamburg to confirm that it had not. In its statement, the ministry elaborated 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.”

The yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands and owned through Klaret Continental Leasing Limited, a company based in Malta, according to public data from vessel tracking service VesselFinder. A spokesperson for the Malta Business Registry told Forbes that Klaret Continental Leasing Limited was a branch of a Cyprus-based company which closed in December 2018. The Cyprus company, also named Klaret Continental Leasing Limited, was dissolved in September 2019, according to corporate records in Cyprus. A spokesperson for Usmanov told the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project , which Forbes is collaborating with on assets linked to Russian oligarchs, that the yacht had “long ago been transferred into an irrevocable trust” and that Usmanov had “donated” the beneficial rights to members of his family. That makes it difficult to tie the yacht directly to Usmanov for the purpose of sanctions.

In its statement, the ministry in Hamburg added that restrictions can be imposed on a yacht owned by a sanctioned Russian individual only “if the ownership situation is clearly clarified and all these possessions are also sanctioned.” The ministry confirmed to Forbes that the yacht is still in the dock at the Hamburg shipyards of Blohm+Voss.

Forbes contacted the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Federal Customs Service but has not received an immediate response.

Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov was sanctioned by the European Union on Monday. Two days later, Forbes has learned from three sources in the yacht industry that work has been halted on one of his prized possessions—the 512-foot yacht Dilbar, valued at nearly $600 million—in the northern city of Hamburg, where it had been stationed for refitting at the shipyards of Blohm+Voss since October.

The ship has been in the Hamburg shipyards of German shipbuilding firm Blohm+Voss since late October for a refitting job. Sources who spoke to Forbes said that the German government froze the asset and that, likely as a result, Blohm+Voss employees who had been working on the yacht didn’t show up to work on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Lürssen, the German shipbuilder which owns Blohm+Voss, declined to comment on Thursday. “All orders and projects of the Lürssen Group and its subsidiaries are treated in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations,” the spokesperson said. Representatives for Usmanov didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Usmanov purchased Dilbar in 2016 for a reported $600 million from Lürssen, which custom-built it for him over 52 months. The firm calls it "one of the most complex and challenging yachts ever built, in terms of both dimensions and technology." At 15,917 tons, it's the world's largest motor yacht by gross tonnage, and is typically manned by a crew of 96 people. Dilbar boasts the largest swimming pool ever installed on a yacht as well as two helicopter pads, a sauna, a beauty salon, and a gym. Its plush interiors have more than 1,000 sofa cushions and it can host up to 24 people in 12 suites.

The yacht is part of Usmanov’s estimated multibillion dollar fortune, which spans stakes in iron ore and steel giant Metalloinvest and consumer electronics firm Xiaomi, as well as smaller holdings in telecom, mining and media. One of the earliest investors in Facebook along with fellow billionaire Yuri Milner , Usmanov also owns extensive real estate assets in the West, ranging from two estates in the UK—Beechwood House in London and Sutton Place in Surrey, valued at a combined $280 million—to luxury homes in Munich, Germany; Lausanne, Switzerland; Monaco; and Sardinia.

Usmanov sold his 30% stake in English soccer team Arsenal F.C. in 2018 for nearly $700 million in cash, but until this week had ties to soccer through his USM Holdings and MegaFon sponsorships of Everton F.C. The Premier League team said on Wednesday that it was suspending the arrangements in light of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Usmanov isn’t the only Russian billionaire with a mega-yacht: Forbes and yacht valuation experts VesselsValue tracked down 32 of them.

On Tuesday, Usmanov commented on the EU sanctions imposed on him in a statement to the International Fencing Federation where he also announced he was stepping down as the organization’s president. “I believe that such decision is unfair, and the reasons employed to justify the sanctions are a set of false and defamatory allegations damaging my honor, dignity, and business reputation," he wrote. "I will use all legal means to protect my honor and reputation."

Updated on March 30 with more information on Klaret Continental Leasing Ltd.

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Watch CBS News

U.S. seizes mega yacht owned by oligarch who's close to Putin

By Robert Legare

Updated on: April 5, 2022 / 9:24 AM EDT / CBS News

Washington  — American and Spanish law enforcement agents took control of the mega yacht Tango anchored in the luxurious Spanish island of Palma de Mallorca on Monday after the U.S. Justice Department obtained a warrant for the $90-million vessel's seizure.

The warrant and subsequent raid targeted Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, who was sanctioned by the U.S. government in 2018 and again last month following Russia's deadly invasion of Ukraine. The financial penalties blocked the billionaire from participating in the U.S. economy and prevented him from utilizing American banks to conduct business transactions. 

According to the Justice Department's warrant , dating as far back as 2011, Vekselberg and other unnamed conspirators attempted to avoid detection in the U.S. by paying for the yacht through shell companies and other money laundering techniques. 

"Vekselberg and those acting on his behalf and for his benefit caused U.S. dollar transactions for the Tango to be sent through U.S. financial institutions, after a time which Vekselberg was designated by the Treasury Department," the warrant unsealed Monday alleges.

The Tango, designed and built exclusively for the oligarch, who has an estimated net worth of $6 billion, had been sent to Spain for repair. Investigators say the Spanish government then alerted the Justice Department to its whereabouts on March 13. 

Prosecutors in Spain obtained a "freezing" order on the vessel, paving the way for FBI and other American law enforcement agents to seize the ship. 

Monday's operation was part of the Justice Department's new Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement group aimed at holding sanctioned Russian elites accountable, as Russia continues its aggressive invasion of Ukraine. 

"Today marks our task force's first seizure of an asset belonging to a sanctioned individual with close ties to the Russian regime. It will not be the last," Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday. "Together, with our international partners, we will do everything possible to hold accountable any individual whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue its unjust war."

The Associated Press noted 64-year-old Vekselberg, who was born in Ukraine, has long had ties to the U.S., including a green card he once held and homes in New York and Connecticut. He's the main owner of the Renova Group, a global conglomerate he founded 30 years ago which is based in Moscow with major assets in mining, technology and utilities. He has stakes in several technology companies and in Rusal, Russia's biggest aluminum producer.

Vekselberg and his cousin, Andrew Intrater, were investigated by special counsel Robert Mueller after the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels released a memo that claimed $500,000 in hush money was routed through Columbus Nova, an investment company run by Intrater and reportedly affiliated with Renova , to a shell company set up by former President Donald Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, according to the Associated Press. Columbus Nova denied that Vekselberg, who was Intrater's biggest investor, played any role in its payments to Cohen. Vekselberg and Intrater met with Cohen at Trump Tower, one of several meetings between members of Trump's inner circle and high-level Russians during the 2016 campaign and transition. Mueller did not mention Vekselberg or Intrater in his final report.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that neither Vekselberg nor Intrater were mentioned in special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, as well as to note some of Vekselberg's other holdings.  

Robert Legare is a CBS News multiplatform reporter and producer covering the Justice Department, federal courts and investigations. He was previously an associate producer for the "CBS Evening News with Norah O'Donnell."

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