russian oligarchs super yachts

Here are the superyachts seized from Russian oligarchs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.

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16 superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs

Western sanctions over moscow's invasion of ukraine led to many luxury vessels being detained in europe.

Two superyachts linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich were spotted on the Turkish coast on Tuesday, 'Eclipse' and 'My Solaris'. Mr Abramovich is among several wealthy Russians added to an EU blacklist as governments act to seize their yachts and other luxury assets. AP

Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine

Several luxury yachts owned by wealthy Russians have been detained across Europe this month.

It comes after the West imposed sanctions on oligarchs over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine .

Some have taken evasive action – two such superyachts linked to billionaire Roman Abramovich were spotted approaching the Turkish coast on Tuesday. A group of Ukrainians tried to stop one of the yachts from docking in Turkey.

Chelsea FC owner Mr Abramovich is one of several oligarchs who were added to an EU blacklist last week as governments acted to seize yachts and other luxury assets owned by the billionaires.

Western sanctions resulted in many large vessels relocating from Europe in the past few weeks. Several have headed to places such as the Maldives, which have no extradition treaty with the US.

Where is the Abramovich-owned yacht heading?

Mr Abramovich's yacht Eclipse was seen heading towards Marmaris on Tuesday, according to data compiled by monitoring site Marine Traffic, which was seen by Reuters.

The previous day, his superyacht Solaris was moored in Bodrum, about 80 kilometres from Marmaris, data showed, after skirting waters of EU countries.

There was no suggestion Mr Abramovich was on board either of the yachts.

Ukrainians attempt to stop Abramovich's yacht docking in Turkey

Which yachts have been detained?

On Monday, a superyacht linked to another Russian billionaire was detained by authorities after docking in Gibraltar.

The Axioma , believed to belong to Dmitrievich Pumpyansky, moored at Gibraltar on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, Reuters TV footage showed.

Mr Pumpyansky, who is under UK and EU sanctions, owns Russia's largest steel pipe maker TMK. Data shows the 72-metre vessel is owned by a British Virgin Islands holding company called Pyrene investments, Reuters reported. An article published as part of the Panama Papers leaks names Mr Pumpyansky as a beneficiary of the holding.

On March 12, the world's biggest sailing yacht, called Sailing Yacht A and owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko , was seized by Italian police.

Several other luxury yachts have also been detained across Europe, including in Gibraltar, Mallorca in Spain's Balearic Islands and the French coast.

Here are 16 superyachts linked to wealthy Russians

1. Eclipse , a superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich , was this week spotted heading in the direction of Marmaris in Turkey.

2. Solaris , belonging to Mr Abramovich , moored in Bodrum at the start of the week.

3. The Axioma superyacht, belonging to Russian oligarch Dmitrievich Pumpyansky , who is on the EU's list of sanctioned Russians, was detained by authorities after docking in Gibraltar on Monday.

4. The Crescent , which was seized by the Spanish government in Tarragona, Spain, on March 17. The ship's owner is not publicly known, although it is believed to belong to Russian Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft Oil in Moscow.

5. Ragnar , owned by former KGB officer and Russian oligarch Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, who is not on the EU sanctions list.

6. Tango , owned by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, who was sanctioned by the US on March 11.

7. Lady Anastasia , owned by Russian arms manufacturer Alexander Mijeev, is retained at Port Adriano, Mallorca, as a result of sanctions against Russia and Belarus issued by the European Union.

8. Valerie was seized by the Spanish government in Barcelona, Spain, on March 15. Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that the ship is linked to Rostec State Corporation’s chief executive Sergey Chemezov.

9. The $578 million Sailing Yacht A owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko was seized by Italian police in the port of Trieste on March 12.

10. The 156-metre Dilbar superyacht is owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.

11. La Datcha belongs to Russian billionaire businessman Oleg Tinkov.

12. Lady M , owned by Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov, was seized by Italian police on March 5.

13. Amore Vero was seized in the Mediterranean resort of La Ciotat on March 3 by French authorities. The yacht is linked to Igor Sechin, a Putin ally who runs the Russian oil giant Rosneft.

14. Quantum Blue , owned by a company linked to Russian billionaire Sergei Galitsky, the head of Russian oil giant Rosneft, was seized in southern France on March 3.

15. Superyacht Luna is owned by Russian billionaire Farkhad Akhmedov.

16. Triple Seven is owned by Russian billionaire Alexander Abramov, according to media reports. The yacht was last up for sale in 2020 for €38 million ($41.85 million).

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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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Russian Superyachts Find Safe Haven in Turkey, Raising Concerns in Washington

Turkey’s welcoming ports are symptoms of a much larger problem: evasion of U.S. sanctions against Russia.

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By Elif Ince ,  Michael Forsythe and Carlotta Gall

PORT AZURE, Turkey — On a hot August evening at a marina on Turkey’s southern coast, the crew of the Flying Fox was hard at work, keeping the 446-foot superyacht immaculate for future guests willing to pay $3 million a week. One crew member leaned over the railing at the stern, wiping the highly polished surface next to the ship’s nameplate. Another was busy with a squeegee, cleaning glass.

The Flying Fox, the world’s biggest yacht available for charter, played host last year to Beyoncé and Jay-Z, who skipped the Met Gala in New York to cruise the Mediterranean and enjoy the vessel’s over-the-top amenities: a 4,300-square-foot wellness center with a Turkish bath and a fully equipped beauty spa, among many others.

Then Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, the Flying Fox has been caught up in the dragnet of international sanctions designed to hobble the lifestyles of the oligarchs who help sustain President Vladimir V. Putin’s rule.

Yet, while some superyachts owned by or linked to Russian oligarchs facing sanctions have been seized in ports around the world, the Flying Fox and others caught up in the broader Russia penalties have found safe haven in Turkey, the only NATO member not to impose sanctions on Russia.

The flotilla of Russian superyachts in Turkish waters is raising tensions with the United States, which sees Turkey’s welcoming of the vessels as a symptom of the much larger problem: Russia’s access to Turkey’s financial system, potentially undermining Western sanctions.

Turkey’s strongman leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has criticized Western sanctions against Russia, said in March that Turkey could not impose sanctions because of its energy needs and industry deals. “There is nothing to be done there,” he said.

In all, at least 32 yachts tied to oligarchs and sanctioned entities have sheltered in the country’s waters in recent months, able to move about or moor in its picturesque coves and bays without fear of seizure, according to a New York Times analysis. Ownership records of superyachts for the ultrawealthy are notorious for being hidden behind layers of shell companies. The Times analysis was constructed with news accounts linking Russian oligarchs to particular yachts that were then matched with vessel positions available on commercial sites such as MarineTraffic . In many instances, the yachts were spotted in Turkish waters by a Times reporter.

On Aug. 19, the Treasury Department issued a statement saying that the deputy treasury secretary, Wally Adeyemo, had told a Turkish official that the United States was concerned about Russians using Turkey to evade sanctions.

Three days later, Mr. Adeyemo sent a letter to Turkish business groups warning of penalties if they worked with Russian individuals or entities facing sanctions. Turkish banks, he added, risked losing vital correspondent relationships with global banks — and even access to the U.S. dollar — if they did business with sanctioned Russian banks.

In September, several Turkish banks stopped accepting the Mir payment system — the Russian equivalent of Visa or MasterCard. Their actions came after the United States warned that financial institutions expanding the use of Mir or entering into new agreements risked running afoul of American sanctions against Russia.

Nevertheless, Turkish marinas continue to service sanctioned Russians and their superyachts.

The warm turquoise waters, secluded beaches and trendy establishments of Turkey’s Mediterranean coast have long made it a popular and convenient destination for Russian yacht owners and charterers during the summer. Local restaurant menus are printed in three languages: Turkish, English and Russian.

In June, the Flying Fox was singled out by the United States as “ blocked property ” and its management company, Imperial Yachts, was also sanctioned. Nevertheless, the Flying Fox has been moored since at least May at Port Azure, a marina in the posh resort town of Göcek. Other superyachts there owned by or linked to sanctioned Russians have been cruising from one postcard-worthy cove to another in the area.

The town’s polluted waters are unsuitable for swimming, an attractive feature for superyacht owners because it keeps away crowds and unwanted publicity. And the vessels can easily steam to pristine waters nearby. If the pampered guests have any unfulfilled needs, small boats roam around the harbor, selling groceries, ice cream, Turkish crepes and even massages.

Port Azure, touted as the first “mega-yacht-only marina” in Turkey, was opened last year by STFA, one of Turkey’s biggest conglomerates. The marina , which prides itself on its website as being a “haven” that makes “problems big and small go away,” has hosted at least eight yachts linked to Russian oligarchs or sanctioned companies this past summer, the Times analysis found.

On June 1, a Turkish yacht broker posted on Instagram a video taken at Port Azure showing a lineup of five yachts collectively worth almost $1 billion, including the Flying Fox; the Lana, recently listed at $1.8 million a week for charter by Imperial; and the Galactica Super Nova, linked to Vagit Alekperov, a sanctioned Putin ally, according to news media reports.

As of Oct. 20 there were at least 13 yachts in Turkey linked to sanctions, the Times analysis found. Of those, four were owned by or linked to sanctioned individuals and nine have recently been offered for charter by Imperial, the sanctioned Monaco-based company.

A spokeswoman for Imperial Yachts said that after the firm was sanctioned in June, its clients terminated their contracts with the company and that it “no longer manages or charters” any of the yachts in Turkish waters.

But until late August, Imperial advertised yachts for charter and for sale on its website, including yachts in Turkish waters. After an inquiry by The Times, the listings were removed from Imperial’s website, which now displays only a notice announcing that the company had been sanctioned. The company spokeswoman said that it had “kept its other pages alive as a reflection of its former brand.”

“During the time that the other website pages were visible, Imperial did not engage in any business engagements,” Imperial said in response to emailed questions.

Roman Abramovich, the most visible Russian oligarch recently seen in Turkey, does not use Imperial Yachts to manage the construction of his opulent yachts or staff them after they are put to sea. Four yachts owned by or linked to Mr. Abramovich, who has been sanctioned by Britain and the European Union, the Times analysis shows, were in Turkey in August.

Should the United States choose, it has tools at its disposal to enforce its sanctions on the Russian oligarchs, even if their vessels are in Turkish waters and even if the Turkish government is unwilling to cooperate, said Daniel Tannebaum, a former sanctions official who served at the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

One way, he said, would be to place sanctions on companies that service the oligarchs’ yachts in Turkey — the marinas, caterers and fueling companies. In that case, not just Russian yacht owners but also the many American yacht owners now in Turkish waters would have to take their business elsewhere, while the banks that do business with these companies might close their accounts so as to avoid becoming a target.

Superyachts are a significant source of income for the marinas, as well as other businesses in the area. In one example, Turkish news media outlets reported in April that Mr. Abramovich’s biggest yacht, the 533-foot-long Eclipse, ran up a fuel bill of $1.66 million in the port town of Marmaris. Its tanks took 22 hours to fill.

One of the four superyachts linked to Mr. Abramovich, the 460-foot Solaris, is moored in the Yalıkavak Marina in Bodrum, a trendy resort town in Turkey’s south. While lying idle, it still has 20 crew members who make trips every day to provision it, supply it with water and electricity and dispose of its waste, according to a port employee with direct knowledge of the matter, who spoke anonymously because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

Solaris also receives a truckload of food every week through a catering company, he said, adding: “Twenty cases of asparagus — what would you do with so much asparagus?”

Yalıkavak is Turkey’s most luxurious marina, with stores like Prada, Louis Vuitton and Valentino on a promenade lined with palm trees overlooking the harbor. At least three yachts recently offered for charter by Imperial, the sanctioned management company, and three other yachts owned by or linked to oligarchs moored at Yalıkavak Marina this summer, the Times analysis shows.

In an emailed statement, the marina said that even though Turkey has not adopted sanctions, because it recognizes “international concerns,” the Solaris has been kept outside the marina’s boundaries. As for the vessels associated with Imperial Yachts, the marina said that it did not know, as the summer is “quite a busy time” and that it didn’t have a system in place to check whether an individual yacht might fall under international sanctions.

In August, the Eclipse, one of the yachts linked to Mr. Abramovich, was anchored in the middle of the bay off Göcek, a three-and-a-half-hour drive down the coast from Yalıkavak.

On an early morning in August, Ömer Kırpat, 56, was fishing on the shore in Göcek, sitting under a willow tree overlooking the yachts.

“The bells aren’t jingling,” he said, pointing to the bells attached to his rods to alert him when the fish bite. He showed his bucket with one lone fish inside, explaining that the fish avoid the shore because of pollution and noise from the boats.

Port Azure, the Göcek marina hosting the Flying Fox, was built over the port of a state-owned paper factory where Mr. Kırpat worked for 13 years as a security guard until it was privatized in 2001. He used to go there to swim, fish and have picnics every weekend with other factory workers and their families. “It was sparkly clean,” he said. “We caught the biggest fish there.”

He tried to go into Port Azure last year but was chased away. “We’re banned,” he said. “Soon they won’t even allow us to look inside. It’s heartbreaking.”

Michael Forsythe is a reporter on the investigations team. He was previously a correspondent in Hong Kong, covering the intersection of money and politics in China. He has also worked at Bloomberg News and is a United States Navy veteran. More about Michael Forsythe

Carlotta Gall is a senior correspondent currently covering the war in Ukraine. She previously was Istanbul bureau chief, covered the aftershocks of the Arab Spring from Tunisia, and reported from the Balkans during the war in Kosovo and Serbia, and from Afghanistan and Pakistan after 2001. She was on a team that won a 2009 Pulitzer Prize for reporting from Afghanistan and Pakistan. More about Carlotta Gall

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A multimillion-dollar superyacht once owned by a Russian oligarch has gone to auction

Dustin Jones

The Axioma superyacht, seen in Gibraltar in March, once belonged to Russian oligarch Dmitrievich Pumpyansky. The vessel was seized last March in accordance with sanctions imposed by Britain and the European Union. It will be auctioned off Tuesday, with the proceeds going to JP Morgan Chase. JON NAZCA/REUTERS hide caption

The Axioma superyacht, seen in Gibraltar in March, once belonged to Russian oligarch Dmitrievich Pumpyansky. The vessel was seized last March in accordance with sanctions imposed by Britain and the European Union. It will be auctioned off Tuesday, with the proceeds going to JP Morgan Chase.

A superyacht once belonging to a Russian billionaire went to auction Tuesday in the British territory of Gibraltar. The vessel, estimated to have a value in the tens of millions of dollars, was seized in March as part of Western sanctions against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.

Gibraltar's Admiralty Marshal was tasked with appraising and selling the yacht, which received 63 bids, according to court documents. Its official appraised value is "a confidential matter which cannot be disclosed," although outside estimates reportedly place it anywhere from $42 million to $75 million. Details about who ultimately purchases the vessel and for what price will be made public when the transaction is complete.

Measuring 236 feet long and weighing over 1,600 tons, the Axioma is a sight to behold. It can accommodate 12 guests in six cabins — along with a 20-person crew in 12 other rooms — and features a gymnasium, full-service spa, infinity pool and luxury cinema, as stated on the Howe Robinson Partners auction site.

The cost to charter the Axioma for a week runs an average of roughly $500,000 , not including other operating costs, according to Yacht Charter Fleet.

The former owner of the ship is Dmitrievich Pumpyansky, once Russia's largest steel pipe manufacturer and currently worth $2 billion, according to Forbes . Unfortunately for Pumpyansky, he was sanctioned by Britain and the European Union after the invasion.

Other superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs have been detained as a result of the sanctions, but the Axioma is the first to be sold off, the Guardian reported.

Despite calls for the proceeds of the sale to benefit Ukraine, the funds will instead be paid to JP Morgan Chase. According to the Guardian, the international bank had a loan agreement with Pumpyansky's holding company, Pyrene Investments.

However, the sanctions against Russia prevented JP Morgan Chase from accepting payments from the holding company, breaching the agreement, and the bank filed a legal claim to have the vessel seized and sold at auction.

Other superyachts belonging to Russian elites have been detained all over the world — including the Amadea, which was seized in Fiji at the request of the United States in May. That $300 million yacht belonged to Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian gold producer worth over $12 billion, according to Forbes .

The fate of the Amadea is uncertain, however; it, too, could be sold to the highest bidder, which would be in line with President Biden's aims to hold Russian oligarchs accountable for their role in the invasion and, potentially, use the proceeds to aid Ukraine.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Symbolic target

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yachts on the move

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tucker agrees that targeting the yachts is a symbolic move.

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

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Senior Business reporter for CBC News. A former host of On the Money and World Report on CBC Radio, Peter Armstrong has been a foreign correspondent and parliamentary reporter for CBC. Subscribe to Peter's newsletter here: cbc.ca/mindyourbusiness Twitter: @armstrongcbc

Interview with Sam Tucker produced by Rachel Levy-Mclaughlin

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Russian oligarch’s super yacht arrives in Turkish waters

Russian billionaires are heading for Turkey to flee Western sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

A yacht linked to a Russian aluminium tycoon arrived in a bay near the southwestern Turkish resort of Gocek on Saturday, as more Russian billionaires head for Turkey to flee Western sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Oleg Deripaska, founder of Russian aluminium giant Rusal, has been sanctioned by the United States, United Kingdom and European Union.

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France seizes russian oligarch’s yacht amid eu sanctions, is seizing the yachts & mansions of russian oligarchs enough no., us seizes yacht docked in spain and owned by russian oligarch.

A witness saw the 73-metre (239.5 feet) yacht Clio arrive off the coast of Gocek in the Aegean coastal province of Mugla. The Cayman Islands-flagged vessel remains in the bay off Gocek.

The arrival of the Clio in Turkish waters came after two super-yachts linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, who made a surprise appearance at Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul this month, docked in Turkish ports.

Turkey, a member of NATO, shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea, and has good ties with both and has mediated in the continuing conflict.

Istanbul has supported Kyiv, but also opposed sanctions on Moscow, including measures against Russian billionaires.

Ankara has relied heavily on Russian energy imports and tourists and has emerged as a safe haven for Russians fleeing sanctions, and many have invested in Turkish property.

On April 4, the US government seized a mega-yacht in Spain, the first in Washington’s sanctions enforcement initiative to “seize and freeze” giant boats and other pricey assets of Russian elites.

Spain’s Civil Guard and US federal agents descended on the yacht, Tango, at the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, the capital of Spain’s Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea.

Documents tied to the US investigation alleged that oligarch Viktor Vekselberg bought the Tango in 2011 and used shell companies to hide his interest in the vessel, the US Department of Justice said.

In early March, customs officers in France seized a yacht belonging to Rosneft oil company boss Igor Sechin as it tried to leave the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat in a breach of EU sanctions on Russian oligarchs.

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Spain has seized Russian oligarch’s $140m superyacht in Barcelona, PM says

Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said ‘there will be more’ after the seizure as the west targets Russia over its invasion of Ukraine

• Russia-Ukraine war: live updates

Spain has temporarily seized a Russian oligarch’s $140m (£108m) yacht in Barcelona, as two sources said the vessel belonged to the head of Russian state conglomerate Rostec, an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

“Today we seized – the technical term is provisionally immobilised – a yacht belonging to one of the principal oligarchs,” Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said on La Sexta television on Monday. “We are talking about a yacht that we estimate is worth $140m.”

“There will be more,” he added, without elaborating. Monitoring site Marine Traffic has said that yachts linked to two other oligarchs who are not yet sanctioned were also docked in Barcelona.

The 85-metre (279ft) superyacht Valerie belongs to Sergei Chemezov, a former KGB officer who heads state conglomerate Rostec, two sources told Reuters.

Sailing under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the vessel is registered to Chemezov’s stepdaughter, Anastasia Ignatova, through a the British Virgin Islands company, according to a 2021 article published in the Pandora Papers information leak.

The west has sanctioned Russian billionaires , frozen state assets and cut off much of the Russian corporate sector from the global economy since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

Chemezov was sanctioned by the United States in 2014 and Britain in 2020 over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and was named in sanctions lists this month by the United States and Australia. The US sanctions also targeted Chemezov’s stepdaughter as well as his wife and son.

He was not named in the latest European list of sanctioned Russian figures but the EU imposed measures against him in 2014. A fourth package of EU sanctions against Russia is due to be unveiled in the coming days.

The yacht has been in Barcelona since 9 February, according to Marine Traffic, and was until Monday under repair at Barcelona’s shipyard MB92.

The yacht will remain under detention while Spanish authorities confirm its ownership and whether they feature on any list of sanctions targets, a government source said.

Chemezov told staff in a message shared with Reuters this week that Russia, which describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special military operation” to safeguard domestic security, would emerge “victorious” despite the sanctions.

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5 superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs have docked in Turkey, safe from Western sanctions

• Five luxury yachts owned by Russian oligarchs have sailed to Turkey, avoiding Western sanctions.
• The $400 million Flying Fox arrived on Sunday after leaving the Dominican Republic on April 22.
• Turkey has avoided sanctioning Russia, but a lawyer said the yachts could still be seized.

Five superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs are now docked in Turkey in a bid to avoid Western sanctions triggered by the invasion of Ukraine.

Oligarchs have sought to move their assets, such as luxury vessels and private jets, across the world over the possibility of being placed on sanctions lists. Many chose Turkey because it is yet to sanction Russia for its aggression.

Dmitry Kamenshchik, chairman of Moscow's Domodedovo airport, owns a $400 million yacht called the Flying Fox that arrived in Bodrum, Turkey, on Sunday morning, according to ship-tracking site Marine Traffic .

The vessel left the Dominican Republic on April 22 after being investigated by the US over accusations of money laundering and arms trafficking, local newspapers reported.

The Flying Fox's destination port was "not recognized," but it was heading in the direction of Turkey, according to Marine Traffic.

Ragnar , a $85 million superyacht owned by former KGB agent Vladimir Strzhalkovsky, has remained in Turkish waters since May 6, when it docked in the resort of Marmaris, Marine Traffic data shows.

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The 224-foot vessel departed on March 30 from a port in Norway, where it had been stuck because local suppliers refused to refuel it or do business with its owner, Norwegian public broadcaster NRK  reported at the time.

Meanwhile, Alexander Abramov's $100 million superyacht, Titan, set sail from Dubai on April 22 and made its way through the Suez Canal, Insider previously reported.

Titan arrived in Fethiye, Turkey, but departed on May 5 and has been "cruising" in Turkish waters since then, according to Marine Traffic . It is now near the resort of Güvercinlik, tracking data indicates.

Solaris , a $600 million yacht owned by sanctioned billionaire Roman Abramovich, docked in Bodrum on March 21, Insider previously reported. A day later, his other superyacht - the $700 million Eclipse - arrived in Marmaris.

Since then, both yachts have remained in Turkish waters, with the Solaris anchored off the coast of Yalikavak, while Eclipse is "cruising" near Göcek, Marine Traffic data shows .

These five superyachts are at less risk of being seized because the Turkish government has previously criticized the sanctions imposed on Russia by the West.

However, Benjamin Maltby, a partner at Keystone Law who specializes in superyachts, told Insider that the vessels are "not automatically immune" in Turkey, given that the US was able to seize an oligarch's yacht in Fiji .

"Ultimately, the fate of the new Turkish fleet depends on the beneficial owners' relationship with the Turkish government," he said. "The EU and the US will just have to wait for the political winds to change, and that wait may be a very long one."

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Russian oligarch went to Moscow in effort to broker complex prisoner exchange that included Navalny, sources say

A multi-country prisoner exchange that might have freed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was being discussed and progressing when he died last month, multiple sources have told CNN, and included the direct involvement of a Russian oligarch, Roman Abramovich.

A two-year stop-start process exploring options to secure the release of Navalny began to accelerate when Abramovich visited Moscow in recent months, two of the sources said.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had also embraced early efforts to win Navalny’s freedom, according to several sources.

Abramovich, who is sanctioned in the West and spends much of his time in the United Arab Emirates, met a US official as ideas for the complex exchange involving as many as seven people took shape, according to one source close to the process. Abramovich has kept a connection with the Kremlin since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and was instrumental in early efforts at negotiating an end to the conflict.

One source familiar with Abramovich’s movements said that he had traveled to Moscow to meet with officials at the Kremlin. CNN has been unable to confirm independently when Abramovich went to Moscow, nor reports in independent Russian media on Friday that he met Russian President Vladimir Putin hours before the prison authorities announced that Navalny had died at a penal colony in Siberia on February 16.

However, a source close to Navalny’s team told CNN that on the evening of February 15 they had received word that a message had been delivered to Putin. In what form though, they were unable to say. A key aide to Navalny, Maria Pevchikh, said soon after he died that Abramovich had become involved in exploring a deal, and had “delivered the proposal to swap Navalny” to the Kremlin. She added that he was acting as “an informal negotiator in communication with American and European officials.”

The source familiar with Abramovich’s involvement said he was “flabbergasted” to hear that Navalny had died even as he pursued the exchange.

On February 27, 11 days after Navalny’s death, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov side-stepped questions about Abramovich’s involvement. Asked whether he knew whether Abramovich had discussed a prisoner swap with Putin, he said: “You can ask Abramovich’s representatives. This is not a question to us.”

One Western diplomat told CNN last week that on a scale of one to 10, the prospects of a swap had “reached seven or eight” by the time Navalny died at the IK-3 prison colony.

Even so, the proposal was still at an informal stage, according to several sources familiar with the process, and a deal did not appear imminent.

“The offer can only be made once it’s been accepted informally. That’s how it works in these negotiations,” he said.

A US official concurred, telling CNN: “There was no formal offer extended to Russia at the time of Navalny’s death.”

“Navalny’s release was not imminent before his sudden death,” the official added.

An Aspen meeting

Back in the summer of 2022, Hillary Clinton was approached by Christo Grozev, who has worked with the Navalny team for several years, at the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado.

According to someone familiar with the meeting, Clinton told Grozev that she had followed his work with Navalny, which included revealing the identities of the FSB team that had poisoned Navalny. Clinton said she had also seen the documentary that Grozev helped to make about Navalny. The documentary, which won an Academy Award, was partly based on an investigation into Navalny’s poisoning in August 2020 by CNN and the independent investigative group Bellingcat.

Grozev told CNN that Clinton agreed to reach out to officials in the Biden administration with an idea: exchanging Navalny for a Russian linked to the security service, the FSB, who had been convicted of murder in Berlin. Another name discussed was Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. (Bout was subsequently freed by the US in December 2022 in exchange for American basketball star Brittney Griner, held in a prison colony in Russia after being convicted of cannabis possession.)

Clinton “initially passed on the message” to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, Grozev told CNN. A source confirmed Clinton had reached out to Sullivan. The National Security Council declined to comment.

Navalny adviser Pevchikh also said the Russian convicted of murdering a Chechen dissident in Berlin in 2019 was included in a proposed deal. Pevchikh said that “in early February, Putin was offered to exchange Vadim Krasikov, a killer and an FSB officer who is serving a sentence for murder in Berlin, for two American citizens and Alexey Navalny.”

German prosecutors said that Krasikov was sent by the Russian security services with a false identity to carry out the killing. He was sentenced to life in prison after his conviction in a Berlin court.

The Kremlin denied that he had been working on behalf of the state. But without naming Krasikov, Putin last month floated the idea of securing the release of a Russian “patriot” who he said was serving a life sentence for “liquidating a bandit” in Europe. Speaking to Tucker Carlson in Moscow, Putin implied the deal would be in exchange for the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been charged with espionage in Russia.

The final framework of the proposed deal is unclear, but an individual close to the Navalny team said that an expanded proposal included the possible release of both Gershkovich and another American imprisoned in Russia, Paul Whelan, in addition to Navalny.

“We had to find a way to package the German asset [Krasikov] into an American negotiation,” the source close to the Navalny team said. The Russians had initially proposed that a German-Russian dual citizen held in Russia on espionage charges be exchanged for Krasikov, an offer flatly refused by the Germans.

It became a complex triangular arrangement, he said. “It had to be explained to the Americans that the only way for them to get Whelan and Gershkovich is if the Russians get Krasikov. But the Germans would only hand over Krasikov in exchange for Navalny.”

“The German government was very serious about it,” the Western diplomat told CNN last week. But the diplomat added that it was unlikely the Russians would have agreed to trade three valuable prisoners - Navalny, Gershkovich and Whelan – for one – Krasikov - and would have wanted to expand the deal.

“There are other places bad Russians are. The question was how to get everybody aligned, so various ideas were being thrown around,” the diplomat added. “You have to be creative.”

Another Russian who could be included is Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, an alleged Russian spy who has been charged by the US Department of Justice with fraud and other crimes and is being held in Brazil. Russian and American extradition requests have been declined by Brazilian authorities.

Getting the message to Putin was one of the greatest challenges, the individual close to the Navalny team told CNN. “There was a lot of interest at mid-level, but whenever it got to ‘Oh, who’s going to tell Putin?’ people chickened out.”

Abramovich, according to multiple sources, did not chicken out. But exactly when and how he delivered the informal proposal to the Kremlin, or to President Putin himself, is still not confirmed. Ultimately, the process did not move swiftly enough to save Navalny.

And his aides remain convinced that Putin ordered the killing of the opposition leader, a claim the Kremlin denies.

This story has been updated to include further comment from a US official.

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