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Russian Billionaire Roman Abramovich Owns 16 Yachts And Vessels, 10 More Than Previously Known

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Roman Abramovich.

Documents show that the sanctioned tycoon has a much larger fleet than previously known. At least one of the previously unreported yachts is currently in French territory, putting it at risk of being frozen by authorities.

A trove of leaked documents has revealed several previously unreported assets owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich . The files, shared with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and its partners, including Forbes , show that Abramovich owns at least 10 more yachts and vessels through offshore companies and trusts—in addition to six yachts worth at least $1 billion that were already public knowledge.

The documents come from MeritServus, a Cyprus-based corporate services provider used by Russian oligarchs, and were initially shared with The Guardian , which received them from an anonymous third party. According to The Guardian , the files show that Abramovich transferred ownership of 10 offshore trusts with billions of dollars in assets —including the trust that owns his yachts and private jets—to his seven children in early February 2022, just three weeks before the Russian invasion of Ukraine and about a month before Abramovich was sanctioned by the U.K. and EU. An OCCRP investigation using company records and documents in the leak also revealed that Abramovich had invested some $230 million in a large Russian forestry company —whose other shareholders included the Russian government—between 2008 and 2016, before selling his stake for about $110 million one month before the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Forbes identified 10 vessels owned by Abramovich that had not been previously attributed to him, bringing his overall tally to 16. Eight of the ships are small vessels that, according to the leaked documents, are “used to support the operations” of Eclipse , the 533-foot, $427 million megayacht that Abramovich had built in 2010. Eclipse is currently moored in the Turkish port of Bodrum, with three more of Abramovich’s yachts—the 458-foot, $475 million Solaris , the 180-foot, $38 million Halo and the 220-foot, $20 million Garcon —all anchored nearby, along Turkey’s western Mediterranean coast. A representative for Abramovich did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Outside of the eight support vessels, the leaked documents also show that Abramovich owns a 40-foot Bluegame motor boat named Umbra A , valued at roughly $1 million in a 2016 annual report. The most valuable of the previously unreported yachts is the 80-foot Kewpie , worth about $3 million according to yacht valuation experts VesselsValue. The ship is registered in Bermuda and is currently located in the French overseas territory of Saint Barthélemy, more commonly known as St. Barts, where it has been moored since early November. Abramovich is a familiar face in St. Barts: He owns two properties on the island, one of which was frozen by French authorities in April.

That means Kewpie is also at risk of being frozen, because it’s located on French territory and Abramovich is under EU sanctions—unlike the megayachts in Turkey, which has not imposed sanctions on Russian oligarchs. And Kewpie isn’t the only one of Abramovich’s vessels that could be in trouble. His 162-foot, $11 million Sussurro has been moored in La Ciotat on the French Riviera for nearly a year. Yet another yacht, the 164-foot, $30 million Aquamarine , appears to still be in the Netherlands. Aquamarine ’s ultimate owner is a British Virgin Islands-based company that Abramovich transferred to his business associate David Davidovich on February 24, 2022.

Abramovich uses a complex structure of offshore entities for his yachts plus other assets including four jets , six helicopters and luxury villas and estates . His fleet of 16 ships and 10 aircraft—worth a collective $1.6 billion—are owned by several firms registered in offshore havens including Aruba, the British Virgin Islands, the Isle of Man and Jersey, all known for their secrecy and low-tax regimes. The leaked filings, combined with a seizure warrant for two of Abramovich’s jets filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in June, show that all of these assets—except Aquamarine —are ultimately owned by the Cyprus-based Europa Settlement Trust.

Until February 4, 2022, Abramovich was the trust’s only beneficiary. But on that day, two of Abramovich's representatives—David Davidovich and Tatyana Haykin—filed a document that added his seven children as additional beneficiaries. Four days later, Abramovich was removed entirely, leaving the trust and its trove of yachts and jets to his kids. The amendments to the trust appear to have been completed by February 24, the same day Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine.

Despite the changes to his trusts in February, Forbes still counts Abramovich as a billionaire with an estimated net worth of $8.7 billion. While the megayachts and jets are now technically owned by his children, the oligarch still appears to control them: Abramovich flew aboard his Gulfstream G650 from Israel to Istanbul on March 14, before departing for Moscow the next day.

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Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovich’s Two Superyachts Are Sailing Towards Each Other in the Mediterranean

Ship tracking platforms show that the billionaire’s yachts "eclipse" and "solaris" are relocating to the mediterranean, with no port destination specified., emma reynolds, emma reynolds's most recent stories.

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Russian oligarch and billionaire Roman Abramovich is on the move—and so are his superyachts.

After being slapped with sanctions in response to Russia ’s invasion of Ukraine, the billionaire was last seen on March 14 at an airport in Israel, where he has dual citizenship, according to Reuters .

Abramovich, who is currently worth an estimated $7.1 billion, according to Forbes , appears to be moving his yachts to safer waters. His 533-foot superyacht Eclipse , normally anchored year-round in the Caribbean, has been sailing east towards the Mediterranean since February 21, according to global ship tracking platform MarineTraffic. As of Wednesday, the ship is located off the coast of Algeria and is still sailing east with no port destination specified. The yacht, estimated to be worth over $600 million, is one of the largest and most expensive in the world , and seems to be cruising towards Abramovich’s other yacht, Solaris , in the Ionian Sea.

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Roman Abramovich’s “Solaris” superyacht.  Courtesy of Lloyd Werft

The 461-foot Solaris  is currently located in the Ionian Sea off the western coast of Greece and heading south. Solaris was most recently at a port in Barcelona, where it had reportedly been receiving repairs since late 2021 . The ship left without declaring a destination. However, it’s possible both Solaris and Eclipse are heading towards each other and are even eyeing ports in Israel where Abramovich is considered safe from sanctions.

Though a long-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Abramovich has denied having close ties to the Kremlin. This hasn’t stopped dozens of nations, including the US, UK and several EU countries, from implementing sanctions and asset freezes on the oligarch. The sanctions are part of a concerted multinational effort to pressure Russia’s wealthiest and most powerful individuals to help bring Russia’s war on Ukraine to an end.

Perhaps sensing the economic pressures to come, Abramovich made headlines just days after the Ukraine invasion for stating his intention to sell his beloved Chelsea Football Club in London for $2.5 billion. The billionaire said all proceeds would benefit Ukrainian refugees and “victims of the war,” which, notably, may also include Russian soldiers.

Russian oligarch and Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich appears to be seeking cover from international sanctions in Israel, where he has dual citizenship.  Associated Press

Russians own up to 10 percent of the world’s megayachts, so Abramovich is just one of many Russian billionaires who are moving their assets to avoid seizure by international authorities. This week, Italian police seized Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko’s 486-foot Sailing Yacht A, and earlier this month, France impounded the yacht Amore Vero , owned by Russian oil billionaire Igor Sechin. Other Russian billionaires have had their yachts impounded in other EU countries.

This isn’t the first time Russian oligarchs’ whereabouts have been made public. Florida teen Jack Sweeney, who once tracked Elon Musk’s jet, created a Twitter account —@RUOligarchJets—dedicated to tracking the private jets of Russian oligarchs, which is updated daily.

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Roman Abramovich's superyacht Solaris heads for Turkey as oligarch Chelsea owner gets assets out of Europe

One of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's superyachts, Solaris, is heading for Turkey, while a second, Eclipse, is off the coast off Algeria. Another Russian oligarch, Andrey Melnichenko, recently had a £444m superyacht seized by Italian authorities as part of EU sanctions.

By Jason Farell, Sky News correspondent, in Istanbul

Thursday 17 March 2022 10:44, UK

Roman Abramovich appears to be on a mission to get his assets out of Europe as sanctions tighten.

His superyacht Solaris, worth £430m, is heading south, apparently towards Turkey , after docking in Montenegro on Sunday. Previously, it had been at a repair yard in Barcelona - and had it remained there it might well have been seized by now.

Abramovich has been named on the fourth package of European Union sanctions that will see assets frozen for those Russian super rich considered to be linked to President Vladimir Putin.

Follow live updates on Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Due to sanctions passed last week, any cash or property the Chelsea FC owner holds in the UK are now frozen. His shares on the London stock exchange cannot be sold and won't pay dividends, and he can no longer benefit from the planned £3bn sale of the club. He is also banned from entering the UK.

Abramovich's journey back to Russia

Abramovich's second superyacht, Eclipse, is off the coast of Algeria. Its closest European port is Italy - where another oligarch, Andrey Melnichenko, recently had a £444m superyacht seized by authorities as part of EU sanctions.

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On Sunday night, Abramovich made a whistle-stop trip to Israel, where he is a citizen. Israel currently has no sanctions on Russian oligarchs, and the billionaire owns property in the country.

He was photographed at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport on Monday afternoon before flying for a brief stop in Istanbul; Turkey is another possible safe destination for Russian money. From Istanbul his private Gulfstream G650ER jet - registration LX-Ray - flew to Moscow in the early hours of Tuesday morning .

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Turkish businessman Muhsin Bayrak claims to have met Abramovich, last week, to discuss buying Chelsea. A spokesperson for Mr Bayrak says another meeting was planned later this week.

Despite the British government freezing £3.2bn of his UK assets, including the west London club, it is thought Abramovich could still play a role in the sale, but only on the basis that he does not personally profit from it.

It is not clear whether Mr Bayrak, who made his money in energy, real estate, and cryptocurrency, has the funds to make the purchase.

What is happening with the Chelsea sale?

The British government is open to a sale and wishes to minimalise impact on the club and its fans, but Chelsea is required to approach the government with a proposal before a new licence is granted. Its primary condition is that Abramovich does not financially benefit from any sale.

Read more: How sanctions on Abramovich will affect Chelsea fans

Abramovich put Chelsea up for sale on 2 March, pledging to write off £1.5bn of debt and to divert all proceeds to a new foundation to benefit victims of the war in Ukraine .

The government sanctioned him, claiming to have proved his direct links to Mr Putin's regime. Abramovich has always denied any association.

On Tuesday, a further 370 new sanctions were announced by the UK government - bringing the total to more than 1,000 individuals, entities and subsidiaries now under the Russia sanctions regime since the invasion of Ukraine.

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Nigel Huddleston, the minister for sport, told a committee of MPs: "We are working with Chelsea and the fans that the measures we have put in place primarily impact Roman Abramovich and make sure he does not benefit, whilst making sure that where possible we can reduce the impact on the fans and make sure Chelsea can still continue.

"Can the government allow an entity to fail? Yes, it can, whether it's sport or football or anything else, but what we want to do is make sure the impact of sanctions hits those we want."

Looking to the future, he told the digital, culture, media and sport select committee: "We do recognise there is a need for further refinement and more robust owners' and directors' tests and the integrity element of that is something that is being pushed."

In other developments:

• More than 100,000 Britons register interest to house Ukrainian refugees • UK announces sanctions against 350 more Russian nationals and entities • UK bans luxury goods exports to Russia and hikes import tariffs on products - including vodka • Briton who travelled to warzone to join military fight against Russia leaves over 'suicide mission' fears • Employee interrupts Russian news programme with anti-war slogan

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Roman Abramovich’s yachts sail into Turkish squall over sanctions

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Laura Pitel in Ankara and Andy Bounds in Brussels

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Roman Abramovich’s superyacht Eclipse arrived in the port of Marmaris this week, epitomising in its 163-metre hull western concerns about Turkish reluctance to sign up to sweeping sanctions against Russia.

At a time when European governments have begun seizing yachts belonging to sanctioned oligarchs, the billionaire Chelsea Football Club owner appeared to view Turkey as a haven for Eclipse. Another of his vessels, the 140-metre Solaris, arrived in Bodrum on Monday.

Selim Kuneralp, a former Turkish diplomat, urged his country to be careful about welcoming these vessels, writing in the online outlet Serbestiyet: “These superyachts could become a headache for our government.”

Turkey, a Nato member that has also forged close ties with Moscow in recent years, has won praise from western leaders for its condemnation of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and for supplying armed drones to Kyiv. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also carved out a role as an intermediary between Putin and Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Yet there is concern in European capitals that Turkey, and other countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Israel, could unwittingly or deliberately become a hub for Russian money, or for those seeking to bypass the sanctions imposed by western powers on Moscow. This could further strain ties between Ankara and the west. “It’s something we are watching closely,” said one European diplomat.

Ankara has sought to maintain what it calls its “friendship” with both Russia and Ukraine, and has said repeatedly that it will not sign up to sanctions. Turkish officials argue that they will not work. Turkey’s allies have so far been forgiving of that stance, and have been ultra-cautious about criticising Ankara in public.

“The Europeans understand that Turkey has interdependencies with Russia,” said Ilke Toygur, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. “It’s in a strategically difficult position, and it has a fragile economy and so it cannot get on board with sanctions. This could, at least for now, give a free pass to Turkey when it comes to sanctions.” 

Toygur warned, however, that the pressure on Ankara could grow “if the war goes on longer, if the sanctions get harsher”.

Turkey has not traditionally been an investment destination for Russia’s oligarchs. But Abramovich’s private jet has repeatedly flown in and out of the country over the past month, according to airport tracking sites. Reuters news agency reported this week that the Russian tycoon wanted to invest in Turkey, citing an unnamed source in Ankara with knowledge of conversations with the billionaire.

For those without private jets, Turkey was one of the few remaining escape routes from Russia as most of Europe closed its airspace to Russian commercial flights in the wake of the invasion. Turkish carriers not only continued operating but also increased capacity to and from Russia by 12 per cent two weeks after the invasion, according to data from the travel analytics company ForwardKeys. That irked some European officials. “They see the crisis as an opportunity to make money,” complained one.

One EU official voiced concern that Turkey’s connections to Russia, and its membership of the EU customs union, could make it “very tempting” for some European companies to circumvent EU sanctions through legally affiliated subsidiaries in Turkey in the months ahead.

Another challenge for western leaders is the risk that Turkish businesses could rush to fill gaps in the Russian market after western brands, from Ikea to McDonald's, have pulled out. The crisis represented a big opportunity “not only for the [Turkish] textile industry but also for other sectors”, said Hikmet Tanriverdi, who represents the textile industry on the board of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce.

Tanriverdi said that the largest issue remained payment, given the difficulties for Russian companies in obtaining dollars and euros. He echoed calls from other business figures for local currency trade that would bypass the dollar, and floated the idea of barter trade between the Russian and Turkish central banks that would essentially see Turkey swap exports of products and services for its annual imports of Russian gas.

Such orchestrated efforts to reset trading arrangements would risk drawing “punishment” from the US and Europe, said Dimitar Bechev, a visiting scholar at the think-tank Carnegie Europe.

A chief executive at a large Turkish food producer said that most large businesses would not want to risk falling foul of sanctions. “There will not be a blind jump into the Russian market at the cost of relations with the US or Europe,” the executive said.

Bechev said the case of Halkbank — a Turkish public lender that New York prosecutors have accused of being part of a multibillion-dollar, government-backed scheme to bypass US sanctions on Iran — had scarred western officials. “In the back of their minds [will be the idea that], even if Erdogan eventually signs up to sanctions, he won’t be sincere and Turkey will be trying to trade with Russia and find loopholes or back doors.”

Additional reporting by Valentina Pop in Brussels and Sylvia Pfeifer and Philip Georgiadis in London

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