IN IMAGES, IN PICTURES – From Antibes to Fiji via Santo Domingo, luxury ships are the most symbolic assets confiscated from Russian leaders under Western sanctions.
Just six months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the salvo of Western sanctions, for the first time, a yacht seized from a Russian oligarch is put up for auction this Tuesday, August 23. Its owner Dmitry Pumpyansky being unable to repay the 20 million dollars to the JP Morgan bank, it was confiscated by order of the latter in March in Gibraltar. Proceeds from the sale will go to the American institution.
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Extravagant Dilbar from Alisher Ousmanov, at 800 million dollars with a 25-meter swimming pool, to the “modest” New Vogue estimated at 3.3 million dollars through the 135 meters of the Crescent by Igor Setchine, boss of the oil group Rosneft, there is something for everyone. The yachts are the symbol of the display of the financial power of the oligarchs close to the Kremlin.
Since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on February 24 – just six months ago – the European Union has drawn up a list of 500 Russian personalities or companies whose assets and economic resources abroad must be frozen. From the beginning of March, a race against time thus began for the Twenty-Seven, joined in their enterprise by the United States. Their customs have endeavored to act as quickly as possible before the expensive toys of the oligarchs do not leave their port of anchorage to join places sheltered from the sanctions. Some Russian yachts stationed in Europe have thus managed to slip through the cracks and have taken refuge elsewhere, mainly in Turkey and the Maldives. For customs to intervene and keep a yacht at the quay, however, it is necessary to first ensure the identity of the ship’s priority. The hunt can sometimes be torturous when front companies or front men officially own the ships.
Today, there are no less than 20 yachts boarded across the globe, 4 of which were boarded in French waters, in Marseille, La Ciotat, Cannes and Antibes. Overview of these palaces of the seas, symbols of ostentatious luxury displayed by Russian leaders and oligarchs, which were confiscated from them.
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