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6 More Russian Superyachts Were Just Added to the US’s Oligarch Sanctions List

Imperial yachts, a monaco-based brokerage firm, was also added to the us sanctions list., michael verdon, michael verdon's most recent stories, new zealand’s thrilling win gets the america’s cup off to a rip-roaring start.

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Six more superyachts, and a European yacht brokerage firm reportedly linked to Russian oligarchs, have been added to the sanctions list by the US, according to a statement released by the US Treasury Department.

The Treasury Dept.’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said yesterday that Russian-flagged Graceful and Cayman Islands-flagged Olympia were yachts in which Russian President Vladimir Putin had an interest, including having taken trips on these vessels. The office also targeted two other yachts with financial links to Putin, Shellest and Nega , which are owned by the Russian Non-profit Partnership Revival of Maritime Traditions.

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Monaco-based Imperial Yachts is the first yacht-brokerage firm added to the US sanctions list. OFAC said that Imperial’s Moscow offices have provided “yacht-related services to Russia’s elites, including those in President Putin’s inner circle.”

Sailing Yacht A, which was impounded by Italian authorities in April, belongs to Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko; His Motor Yacht A remains in Dubai (opening Image).  Courtesy AP

The statement added that the 446-foot Flying Fox , a yacht already on the sanctions list, has also been connected to Imperial Yachts.

“Imperial Yachts has been targeted by numerous unfounded and inaccurate accusations following events that are unrelated to this family owned company and its services,” the company said in a statement sent to Robb Report. “The accusations made against us by the US Government and in the press are false. We will pursue all available legal remedies to resolve this matter promptly.”

Meanwhile, the number of yachts being seized continues to increase. Andrey Melnichenko’s Sailing Yacht A was impounded in Italy by the Guardia di Finanzia in March, while his Motor Yacht A is now in Dubai. The UAE is not confiscating Russian yachts. The superyacht Amadea was seized in Fiji in April, but remains in the middle of a court battle. Last Friday, the US won the latest round to gain permission to sail Amadea out of the country, claiming it is owned by Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian oligarch close to Putin. Attorneys fighting the US seizure say it’s owned by Eduard Khudainatov, another Russian not on the sanctions list. The Fijian court of appeals allowed 10 days before their order could be executed, presumably to give attorneys time to appeal to the Fijian Supreme Court.

The 435-ft. Flying Fox has been tied to Imperial Yachts, which is now on the US sanctions list. The Monaco-based yacht-services firm denies any wrongdoing.  Courtesy Imperial Yachts

Yesterday, the Treasury Department also named two other yachts, Madame Gu and Sea Rhapsody, as belonging to Russians on the sanctions list.

Elizabeth Rosenberg, assistant secretary for terrorist financing and finance crimes at the Treasury Department, said that cooperation for going after Russian oligarchs on the US sanctions list is increasing.

“It’s a huge leap forward on international cooperation for hunting assets, for freezing them and for pursuing law enforcement investigations and activity, including seizure activities,” Rosenberg told the New York Times . She added: “It will constrain Russia’s ability to make money to support their war effort.”

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U.S. Department of the Treasury

U.s. treasury severs more networks providing support for putin and russia’s elites.

Targeting key nodes of Russian attempts to evade unprecedented U.S. sanctions

Kremlin elites, luxury assets, and Putin’s favored yachts blocked

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is taking further action to degrade the key networks used by Russia’s elites, including President Vladimir Putin, to attempt to hide and move money and anonymously make use of luxury assets around the globe. Today’s action targets a Kremlin-aligned yacht brokerage, several prominent Russian government officials, and a close Putin associate and money-manager, Sergei Roldugin, who is a custodian of President Putin’s offshore wealth. In order to further tighten and enforce existing sanctions, this action further identifies yachts and aircraft in which sanctioned Russian elites maintain interests.

“Russia’s elites, up to and including President Putin, rely on complex support networks to hide, move, and maintain their wealth and luxury assets,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson. “Today’s action demonstrates that Treasury can and will go after those responsible for shielding and maintaining these ill-gotten interests. We will continue to enforce our sanctions and expose the corrupt systems by which President Putin and his elites enrich themselves.”

Today’s actions were taken pursuant to Executive Orders (E.O.) 14024, E.O. 13685, and E.O. 13661, and further align the United States with its international partners and allies. Today’s designations were taken in tandem with the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Commerce. The U.S. Department of State imposed sanctions on five of Russia’s oligarchs and elites, including Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Alexey Mordashov, the leader of Severgroup and one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires; and family members and entities associated with the oligarchs and elites. The U.S. Department of Commerce is adding 71 additional parties located in Russia and Belarus to the Entity List, further restricting the Russian military’s ability to obtain technologies and other items it needs to sustain aggression and project power.

PUTIN-LINKED YACHTS

Today, OFAC is identifying Russia-flagged Graceful and Cayman Islands-flagged Olympia , as blocked property in which President Vladimir Putin has an interest. On February 25, 2022, OFAC designated Vladimir Putin pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the Government of the Russian Federation (GoR). While the leader of Russia, Putin has taken numerous trips on these yachts, including a 2021 trip in the Black Sea where he was joined by Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the OFAC-designated corrupt ruler of Belarus, who has supported Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Olympia (Photo credit: Feadship)

OFAC also designated the following entities and an individual who were registered owners of or involved in the management of either Graceful or Olympia. OFAC designated Russian Federation state-owned, Cyprus-registered SCF Management Services Cyprus Ltd pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being owned or controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the GoR. OFAC designated Ironstone Marine Investments , JSC Argument , and O’Neill Assets Corporation pursuant to E.O. 14024 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Vladimir Putin. OFAC additionally designated JSC Argument’s sole shareholder and former director, Andrei Valeryevich Gasilov , pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of JSC Argument.

OFAC also targeted two additional yachts linked to Putin, Shellest and Nega , which are owned by the Russian company Non-Profit Partnership Revival of Maritime Traditions (Revival of Maritime Traditions) and its Russian subsidiary Limited Liability Company Gelios (LLC Gelios), respectively. OFAC designated Revival of Maritime Traditions pursuant to E.O. 14024 for operating or having operated in the marine sector of the Russian Federation economy. OFAC designated LLC Gelios pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being owned or controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Revival of Maritime Traditions. OFAC identified Shellest as blocked property in which Revival of Maritime Traditions has an interest and identified Nega as blocked property in which LLC Gelios has an interest. Shellest periodically travels to the coast where President Putin’s infamous Black Sea Palace is located, and President Putin uses Nega for travel in Russia’s North.

Shellest (Credit: Romeo United Yachts)

KREMLIN-ALIGNED YACHT BROKERAGE

Imperial Yachts SARL (Imperial Yachts) is a yacht brokerage that offers a variety of services relating to superyachts, including their design, order, charter, and management. In addition to their head office in Monaco, Imperial Yachts maintains an office in Russia’s capital and provides yacht-related services to Russia’s elites, including those in President Putin’s inner circle. When not in use by their owners, superyachts can be offered for charter through businesses such as Imperial Yachts, generating income for the owners, who are in some cases Russia’s oligarchs. Imperial Yachts conducts business with U.S.-designated oligarchs, including through providing management services to at least one yacht linked to an OFAC-designated individual. 

OFAC designated Monaco-based Imperial Yachts and its Russian CEO, Evgeniy Borisovich Kochman (Kochman), pursuant to E.O. 14024 for operating or having operated in the marine sector of the Russian Federation economy. OFAC also designated Imperial Yachts pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being owned or controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kochman. 

Additionally, OFAC identified the largest yacht currently available for charter through Imperial Yachts, Flying Fox , as blocked property in which Imperial Yachts has an interest.

Flying Fox (credit: Tom Drust )

The entities OOO Nord Marine , OOO Yakht-Treid , OOO Bilding Management , and OOO Nord Marin Inzhiniring were designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being owned or controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Kochman.

PUTIN’S MIDDLE-MAN

Sergei Pavlovich Roldugin (Roldugin) is a close friend and part of a system that manages President Putin’s offshore wealth. The two have known each other for over four decades, and Roldugin is the godfather to one of Putin’s daughters. Roldugin is a cellist, conductor, and the artistic director of the St. Petersburg Music House, a state-owned cultural institution in Russia. Elena Yuryevna Mirtova (Mirtova), Roldugin’s wife, is a soprano opera singer and actress who has performed alongside her husband. Roldugin was previously designated by the European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Roldugin was designated today pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the GoR. Mirtova was designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being a spouse or adult child of Roldugin.

ADDITIONAL YACHTS AND AIRCRAFT

OFAC designated San Marino-based SRL Skyline Aviation (Skyline) pursuant to E.O. 13685 for operating in the Crimea region of Ukraine and identified aircraft T7-OKY as property in which Skyline has an interest. As part of a scheme involving jets owned by VTB Bank and controlled by the chief of staff of VTB Bank’s CEO, Andrei Kostin (Kostin), the jets were transferred to an anonymous offshore company. Kostin’s chief of staff still manages these jets, which Skyline operated. OFAC designated VTB Bank pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being owned or controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the GoR, and for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation economy. OFAC designated Kostin in 2018 pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the GoR.

As part of today’s action, OFAC also identified a yacht named Sea Rhapsody as property in which Kostin has an interest. Priced at $65 million, Kostin’s yacht Sea Rhapsody is flagged in the Marshall Islands and has an International Maritime Organization (IMO) number of 1010648.

T7-OKY (" T7-OKY@ZRH;21.01.2020 " by  https://www.flickr.com/photos/46423105@N03  is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. )

OFAC identified Cayman Islands-flagged yacht, Madame Gu , helicopter 3A-MGU housed on the yacht, and private plane P4-MGU as blocked property in which twice-designated Russian Federation Duma member and billionaire Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch (Skoch) has an interest. The 324-foot Madame Gu (IMO 1011331), which is valued at $156 million, includes an elevator, beach club, gym, and requires significant maintenance and repair, including approximately $1 million for painting annually. OFAC designated Skoch in 2022 pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the GoR and in 2018 pursuant to E.O. 13661 for being an official of the GoR.

3A-MGU taking off from the deck of Madame Gu (Dutch Yachting via Youtube )

P4-MGU (" Global Jet Luxembourg, P4-MGU, Airbus A319-115 CJ " by Anna Zvereva is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. )

TOP RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

Yury Slyusar (Slyusar) is the President of United Aircraft Corporation (UAC), a Russian state-owned company and major supplier of aircraft to Russia’s military, and one of the leading actors in Russia’s industry and defense sector with close ties to the GoR. UAC has supplied aircraft that have been used by Russia’s military to threaten and destabilize Ukraine. UAC is 88 percent owned by Rostec, a Russian stated-owned defense company subject to the debt-related prohibitions of Directive 3 under E.O. 13662.

Slyusar was designated today pursuant to E.O. 14024 for having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the GoR and for operating or having operated in the aerospace sector of the Russian Federation economy. Slyusar has previously been designated by the European Union, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Vitaly Savelyev (Savelyev) is the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation and a member of the Board of Directors of Russian Railways; he also serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Aeroflot. Savelyev was designated today pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the GoR. Savelyev has previously been designated by the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Maxim Reshetnikov (Reshetnikov) is the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. Reshetnikov serves on the board of sanctioned Russian entities, including VTB Bank, VEB.RF, and Russian Railways. Reshetnikov was designated today pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the GoR. Reshetnikov has previously been designated by the European Union, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Irek Envarovich Faizullin (Faizullin) is the Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities of Russia and is a member of the board of directors of Russian Railways. Faizullin was designated today pursuant to E.O 14024 for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the GoR. Faizullin has previously been designated by the European Union and the United Kingdom.

Dmitriy Yuryevich Grigorenko (Grigorenko) is the Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of the Government Staff of Russia. Grigorenko was designated today pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being or having been a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of the GoR. Grigorenko has previously been designated by the European Union, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. All transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited, unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt. These prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person and the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.

For identifying information on the individuals and entities sanctioned today, click here.

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Imperial Yachts issues press statement after US sanctions move

Posted by Staff Writer | Jun 3, 2022 | News

Following our report that Monaco-based Imperial Yachts has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department, the company issued the following statement:

“Press Statement:

Like all leaders in our business, we have gone through a recent period where the yacht industry has been subjected to inquiries from some authorities, but over the past few months, Imperial Yachts has been targeted by numerous unfounded and inaccurate accusations following events that are unrelated to this family owned company and its services.

These events culminated today with the announcement of sanctions on our company by the United States government. The accusations made against us by the U.S. government and in the press are false.  We will pursue all available legal remedies to resolve this matter promptly. 

Imperial Yachts conducts all its businesses in full compliance with laws and regulations in all jurisdictions in which we operate. We are not involved in our clients’ financial affairs.

We are in the yacht building, management, sale and charter business. That is our focus and what we do. We started this company from nothing, and now, it appears that due to our success, we are unfortunately being targeted by those who would like to bring us down.

We look forward to settling all matters resulting from this turbulent time, as well as disproving the damaging smears made against our company. As always, our focus remains on living up to our established name as an international leader in providing the highest level of excellence for yacht sales, construction, management, and chartering.

Spokesperson for Imperial Yachts”

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: https://news.mc/2022/06/02/us-treasury-sanctions-monaco-based-imperial-yachts-and-owner/

FILE PHOTO: Imperial Yachts is based in the Ermanno Palace

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By SuperyachtNews 06 Jun 2022

Imperial Yachts respond to being sanctioned

Imperial yachts have claimed to be the victims of numerous unfounded and inaccurate accusations….

Imperial Yachts have released their first official public statement following the Ukraine crisis in a bid to reassure their followers that they will be disproving the damaging smears against their company. The statement came after the US Treasury announced that they have sanctioned the company and its Russian CEO Evgeniy Kochman because of their history of providing yacht related services to Russian elites, including those in Putin's inner circle.

The Sanctions against Russian UHNWIs have so far been regarded as morally necessary yet strategically flawed. While the sanctions have helped to neutralise cash flow and keep some pro-war elites at bay, numerous stakeholders have voiced their opinions on the motivations behind tenuous links being drawn up by the Kleptocapture task force. In the case of Imperial Yachts, it appears that a particularly devastating piece of investigative journalism on behalf of The New York Times acted as a catalyst for wider media scrutiny and public disdain. 

      View this post on Instagram A post shared by Imperial Yachts (@imperial_yachts)

The Treasury Department named four yachts that they believed are linked to Putin - Shellest, Graceful, Nega, and Olympia. Interestingly, Scheherazade - a yacht which has been widely recognised to be likely owned by Putin   -  has not been named by U.S Intelligence officials, although they have said that it could have been built for Mr Putin’s use. According to the IMO, Scheherazade is legally owned by Bielor Asset Ltd, a business registered in the Marshall Islands.

Imperial Yachts have received a fair amount of support from their social media followers since posting their response. One Instagram user commented, “I stand behind you and hope you come out on top. I admire your products and your company is amazing and you deserve better days for sure.” While another commented, “Monaco-based Imperial Yachts has been sanctioned by the US Treasury Department but without proven guilty, the presumption of innocence still applies and the USA, in particular, should adhere to this principle.”

With this being said, Imperial Yachts have not replied to requests for interviews with the press ever since the invasion of Ukraine began back in late February - a stance which ultimately proved to be more damaging than they would have previously expected. The company have born the brunt of a ferocious news cycle, an impact which has only been made much worse because of its refusal to openly communicate with the press. Renowned industry experts and market commentators such as Designer Martin Francis have publicly criticised companies in the superyacht industry for their lack of public support for Ukraine.

Speaking on the matter in a general sense two weeks after the war started, Francis said in an exclusive interview with SuperyachtNews , “I think it is indecent that the yacht businesses, including the yachting press, have not said anything in support of Ukraine or in condemnation of Russia. I haven't seen anything in the specialized press or on social media.”

Francis continued, “The industry should unite and say that they are standing up against Russian aggression and I think the industry should say that they are not going to work with anyone who doesn't openly oppose the war spelling out what it is.”

The elusive and all-pervading optimism in the industry's general response to the sanctions against Russian individuals has not been particularly beneficial for the wider perception of the market. However, the individual efforts of stakeholders have been awe-inspiring, with a number of people in the industry coming together to create platforms for real tangible change for those most poorly affected by the war.

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On the 2nd of June the United States Department of the Treasury issued a report entitled  U.S. Treasury Severs More Networks Providing Support for Putin and Russia’s Elites.  Among the various companies, vessels and individuals added to the U.S. sanctions list was the Monaco-based yacht brokerage firm Imperial Yachts.

Citing the company as a “Kremlin Aligned Yacht Brokerage”, the sanctions report that the brokerage house; “maintains an office in Russia’s capital and provides yacht-related services to Russia’s elites, including those in President Putin’s inner circle. When not in use by their owners, superyachts can be offered for charter through businesses such as Imperial Yachts, generating income for the owners, who are in some cases Russia’s oligarchs.” While other yacht brokerages could be impact under this final line, the list specifically mentioned Imperial Yachts due to its ownership by a sanctioned individual.

In addition to the sanctions imposed against the brokerage house itself, the sanctions also mention a number of vessels operating under the management of Imperial Yachts, including the  Flying Fox , recording the vessel as “ blocked property “. Imperial Yachts themselves have since refuted the accusations, both those made by the United States government and the various media outlets who have share “unfounded and inaccurate accusations”. They have now issued the following statement: 

Like all leaders in our business, we have gone through a recent period where the yacht industry has been subjected to inquiries from some authorities, but over the past few months, Imperial Yachts has been targeted by numerous unfounded and inaccurate accusations following events that are unrelated to this family owned company and its services.

These events culminated today with the announcement of sanctions on our company by the United States government. The accusations made against us by the U.S. government and in the press are false. We will pursue all available legal remedies to resolve this matter promptly.

Imperial Yachts conducts all its businesses in full compliance with laws and regulations in all jurisdictions in which we operate. We are not involved in our clients’ financial affairs. We are in the yacht building, management, sale and charter business. That is our focus and what we do. We started this company from nothing, and now, it appears that due to our success, we are unfortunately being targeted by those who would like to bring us down.

We look forward to settling all matters resulting from this turbulent time, as well as disproving the damaging smears made against our company. As always, our focus remains on living up to our established name as an international leader in providing the highest level of excellence for yacht sales, construction, management, and chartering.”  Spokesperson for Imperial Yachts.

• Imperial Yachts
• sanctions list

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Imperial Yachts responds to US-imposed sanctions on company and CEO

Monaco-based yacht brokerage firm Imperial Yachts has released a statement after the company was sanctioned by the US government on June 2.

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From our partners.

US sanctions Russian officials, oligarchs, Putin’s megayachts

Among those targeted is also an oligarch who heads a major steel producer, the US Treasury Department said on Thursday.

The United States further expanded sanctions aimed at punishing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, with targets including prominent Russian government officials and business leaders with close ties to President Vladimir Putin.

Among those designated is an oligarch who heads a major steel producer, a yacht management company, the spokeswoman for the country’s foreign ministry and a cellist the US Department of the Treasury says acts as a middleman for the Russian leader.

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Opec+ agrees on bigger oil-output hikes for coming months, russia-ukraine war: list of key events, day 99, russia-ukraine latest: moscow controls 20 percent of ukraine, russia-ukraine war: list of key events, day 98.

The US will continue “to impose severe costs” on Russia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday in a statement.

The US state, commerce and treasury departments each issued their own new restrictions, in the latest moves to crack down on those supporting Russia, including more limits on the export of US technology that could help the Russian military.

The US and other Western countries have imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia since its February 24 invasion of Ukraine. Putin claims the invasion is “a special military operation” to disarm and “denazify” Ukraine. Ukraine and its allies say Putin’s claim is a blatant pretext for a war of aggression.

“Today’s action demonstrates that Treasury can and will go after those responsible for shielding and maintaining these ill-gotten interests,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.

“We will continue to enforce our sanctions and expose the corrupt systems by which President Putin and his elites enrich themselves,” Nelson added.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added four megayachts to the ones already sanctioned, including the Russian-flagged Graceful and the Cayman Islands-flagged Olympia.

The Russian president has taken numerous trips on the yachts, including one in the Black Sea with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko last year, the Treasury Department said.

Imperial Yachts, a brokerage based in Monaco that allows superyacht owners – including Russian oligarchs – to charter their boats when they are not using them, was also designated.

“When not in use by their owners, superyachts can be offered for charter through businesses such as Imperial Yachts, generating income for the owners, who are in some cases Russia’s oligarchs,” Treasury said.

It also sanctioned an aviation company it said is involved in a scheme to transfer aircraft to an offshore company to avoid sanctions.

The US added Sergei Roldugin, a cellist and conductor already under European Union sanctions for his links to Putin, to its list of sanctioned individuals. The order freezes Roldugin’s US assets and bars Americans from doing business with him.

The State Department designated “God Nisanov, one of the richest men in Europe” and also Evgeny Novitskiy – both close associates of Russian officials.

It also targeted Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, and Alexey Mordashov, one of Russia’s wealthiest billionaires, and his family members and companies, including one of Russia’s leading domestic steel producers.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Commerce added 71 parties located in Russia and Belarus to its entity list, effectively cutting off their access to vital technologies, a White House fact sheet said.

US sanctions Imperial Yachts and CEO Evgeniy Kochman

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has added Imperial Yachts and its CEO Evgeniy Kochman to its sanctions list. It has also sanctioned Flying Fox , its largest charter yacht as well as six other yachts linked to Russians.

“Russia’s elites, up to and including President Putin, rely on complex support networks to hide, move, and maintain their wealth and luxury assets,” said Brian Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “Today’s action demonstrates that Treasury can and will go after those responsible for shielding and maintaining these ill-gotten interests. We will continue to enforce our sanctions and expose the corrupt systems by which President Putin and his elites enrich themselves.”

In a statement OFAC accuses Imperial Yachts of being a “ Kremlin-aligned yacht brokerage.”

Founded in Monaco in 2004 by Kochman, Imperial Yachts specialises in managing yachts larger than 50 metres. Many of its customers are Russian. Yacht professionals in Monaco believe that many of Imperial Yachts’ senior management team are now in Dubai.

“Like all leaders in our business, we have gone through a recent period where the yacht industry has been subjected to inquiries from some authorities, but over the past few months, Imperial Yachts has been targeted by numerous unfounded and inaccurate accusations following events that are unrelated to this family-owned company and its services,” said Imperial Yachts in a statement. “The accusations made against us by the US government and in the press are false. We will pursue all available legal remedies to resolve this matter promptly.”

OFAC has also named four other companies which it says are connected to Kochman: OOO Nord Marine, OOO Yakht-Treid, OOO Bilding Management, and OOO Nord Marin Inzhiniring.

Imperial was the manager of the Amadea that was seized in Fiji in May. Imperial brokered the sale of the yacht in 2021. In the seizure warrant an FBI special investigator stated that the yacht is owned by Suleiman Kerimov who was sanctioned by the US in 2018.

“Imperial Yachts conducts all its businesses in full compliance with laws and regulations in all jurisdictions in which we operate. We are not involved in our clients’ financial affairs,” said Imperial Yachts. “We are in the yacht building, management, sale and charter business. That is our focus and what we do. We started this company from nothing, and now, it appears that due to our success, we are unfortunately being targeted by those who would like to bring us down.”

On Thursday Imperial Yachts was the subject of a New York Times investigation .

Imperial Yachts added: “We look forward to settling all matters resulting from this turbulent time, as well as disproving the damaging smears made against our company. As always, our focus remains on living up to our established name as an international leader in providing the highest level of excellence for yacht sales, construction, management, and chartering.”

OFAC targets seven superyachts

As well as Flying Fox , OFAC has also sanctioned motor yachts Graceful and Olympia . It says that President Putin has an ownership stake in these two yachts and has taken numerous trips onboard both. It also sanctioned  Shellest  and  Nega , which are owned by the Russian company  Non-Profit Partnership Revival of Maritime Traditions . OFAC says both yachts are linked to Putin.

Sea Rhapsody  which OFAC say is owned by Andrei Kostin, CEO of VTB Bank has also been listed. OFAC identified Cayman Islands-flagged yacht,  Madame Gu as blocked property because it believes Andrei Vladimirovich Skoch, the Russian billionaire and Russian Federation Duma member, has an interest.

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U.S. Sanctions Putin-Linked Yachts

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By Bill Faries (Bloomberg) —

The US Treasury Department announced a new round of sanctions targeting what it said were yachts linked to President Vladimir Putin as well as allies of the Russian leader, in the latest set of penalties over the war in Ukraine. 

Billionaire Alexey Mordashov, the majority owner of Severstal PJSC, Russia’s fourth-biggest steelmaker, was also hit with State Department sanctions, Treasury said. 

The Russian-flagged yacht Graceful and the Olympia, which flies a Cayman Islands flag, were among the vessels identified in the latest tranche of sanctions, according to a Treasury statement on Thursday. Putin and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko traveled together on one of the ships on the Black Sea in 2021, Treasury said. 

The sanctions, which were aimed at a number of other ships, planes and individuals as well, continue to focus on Russia’s elites in a bid to pressure Putin to rethink his war in Ukraine. With the conflict into its fourth month, however, such moves appear to have had little influence on the Russian leader. 

“Russia’s elites, up to and including President Putin, rely on complex support networks to hide, move, and maintain their wealth and luxury assets,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement. “We will continue to enforce our sanctions and expose the corrupt systems by which President Putin and his elites enrich themselves.

Among other US targets announced on Thursday were yacht brokerage Imperial Yachts SARL, based in Monaco, as well as Sergei Roldugin, who Treasury said is a “close friend and part of a system that manages President Putin’s offshore wealth.” Roldugin, who has been sanctioned by several other nations, is also a godfather to one of Putin’s daughters, according to the statement. 

Among officials in Putin’s government, Minister of Transport Vitaly Savelyev was sanctioned after already facing penalties from the European Union and UK. 

© 2022 Bloomberg L.P.

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In its latest round, the US has sanctioned Evgeniy Kochman and his company Imperial Yachts which manages and charters yachts worth billions of dollars to the Russian elites.

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The Middlemen at the Heart of an Oligarch-Industrial Complex

They oversee the flow of billions of dollars from Putin-connected Russians to companies involved in superyachts and villas. They’ve drawn the attention of a U.S. task force.

Credit... Balint Porneczi/Bloomberg

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By Michael Forsythe Gaia Pianigiani and Julian E. Barnes

• June 1, 2022

On Feb. 24, as Russian troops poured into Ukraine on Day 1 of the invasion, an employee of a yacht management company sent an email to the captain of the Amadea, a $325 million superyacht: “Importance: High.”

The family of a Russian oligarch under sanctions had spent much of January and February cruising from island to island in the Caribbean and had some questions and concerns. When would be a good time to visit New Zealand? Bali? Could the yacht get a special boat to pull water skiers? And would the staff of the Amadea please stop folding napkins in triangles? “Guests don’t like it,” wrote the employee, Victoria Pastukhova, a “client coordinator” for the company, Imperial Yachts.

At Imperial Yachts, no detail is too small to sweat. Based in Monaco, with a staff of about 100 — plus 1,200 to 1,500 crew members aboard yachts — the company caters to oligarchs whose fortunes turn on the decisions of President Vladimir V. Putin. Imperial Yachts and its Moscow-born founder, Evgeniy Kochman, have prospered by fulfilling their clients’ desires to own massive luxury ships.

For a Russian with hundreds of millions of dollars to spend, Mr. Kochman’s company takes care of everything: It oversees construction, hires the crew, manages the vessel’s day-to-day operation and can charter the ship or sell it, if need be. Another company also run by Mr. Kochman, BLD Management , performs a similar service for villas.

Imperial’s rise has benefited an array of businesses across Europe, including German shipbuilders, Italian carpenters, French interior design firms and Spanish marinas , which together employ thousands of people. Imperial Yachts is at the center of what is essentially an oligarch-industrial complex, overseeing the flow of billions of dollars from politically connected Russians to that network of companies, according to interviews, court documents and intelligence reports.

Imperial Yachts and BLD are now under scrutiny by a U.S. government task force, called KleptoCapture, that is trying to disrupt the Russian war machine by going after the assets of oligarchs tied to Mr. Putin. After some high-profile raids and seizures, the Americans are focusing on the network of enablers working outside of Russia. Investigators from the F.B.I., the Treasury and several intelligence agencies are gathering evidence showing that businesses and individuals knowingly aided Russians under sanctions whose wealth came through corruption, making them vulnerable to U.S. charges.

Andrew Adams, a federal prosecutor leading the task force, said in an interview that “targeting people who make their living by providing a means for money laundering is a key priority.”

Documents obtained from the Amadea by U.S. officials show the role Imperial Yachts plays in managing the myriad requests of stunningly rich, seaborne Russians. The Amadea is now in Fiji, where American officials are fighting a court battle to take possession of the yacht. Mr. Adams said that Russian superyachts that don’t find a buyer may be sold to salvagers for their pricey fittings: gold-plated bathroom fixtures , marble, inlaid floors made of rare wood.

In pursuing the enablers, American and European investigators have confronted a deliberately confusing ownership structure involving daisy chains of shell companies stretching from the Marshall Islands to Switzerland. Along with the Amadea, Imperial Yachts oversaw the construction of the Scheherazade, a $700 million superyacht that U.S. officials say is linked to Mr. Putin, and the Crescent, which the Spanish police believe is owned by Igor Sechin, chairman of the state-owned oil giant Rosneft.

A secret U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that the money to build the ships came from a group of investors led by Gennady Timchenko, a confidant of Mr. Putin and one of Russia’s richest men, who, like Mr. Sechin, has been under U.S. sanctions since 2014. Mr. Timchenko and his partners designed the Scheherazade — seized in early May by the Italian police — as a gift for Mr. Putin’s use, according to the assessment. Together, the three vessels may have cost as much as $1.6 billion, enough to buy six new frigates for the Russian navy.

Simon Clark, a lawyer for Imperial Yachts, said that the company “is unaware of any connection between our business and Mr. Timchenko. However, we are in the yacht-building business; we are not involved in our clients’ financial affairs.” Mr. Clark added that the company has “never conducted business or provided services to any parties subject to international sanctions.”

But U.S. officials are not buying such explanations. Elizabeth Rosenberg, the assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes at the Treasury Department, said it was the responsibility of people in the yacht services industry to avoid doing business with people under sanctions.

“And if you do,” she said, “you yourself will be subject to sanctions.”

Courting Russia’s Wealthiest

Mr. Kochman, 41, got his start in the yacht business in Russia in 2001, the year after Mr. Putin took power, selling Italian-made yachts . Russia had been through a decade of turmoil after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and many of today’s oligarchs had yet to amass their billions. But Mr. Kochman, then just 20 years old, had plenty of millionaires to court.

As some well-connected Russians joined the ranks of the world’s wealthiest people and began to buy up villas on the French and Italian Rivieras, Mr. Kochman moved to Monaco. Instead of selling mere yachts, often made on a production line, Mr. Kochman and his sister, Julia Stewart, now 46, entered into the world of superyachts, custom-made vessels of about 100 feet or longer. “We grow with our clients like parents with babies,” he said in 2016 in a rare interview .

Company records in Monaco show that Imperial Yachts was set up in 2008. The business also registered that year in the secrecy haven of Jersey in the English Channel.

But Mr. Kochman was still spending a lot of time in Moscow. That year he attended an exhibition for the ultrawealthy, with one of his British-built yachts on display. “We buy your yachts and you buy our gas,” Mr. Kochman told a Guardian reporter. Soon, his business took off.

Rich Russians and Persian Gulf royalty now dominate the ranks of owners of the world’s most extravagant superyachts, which can cost up to $75 million a year to operate . Since 2010, 17 superyachts 400 feet or longer have been delivered; all are owned by Russians or members of the Gulf monarchies.

In about 2014, Imperial Yachts landed its biggest project to date, a 349-foot superyacht to be constructed by Lürssen, a German shipbuilder: This would become the Amadea. Its Russian owner was sparing no expense, with hand-painted Michelangelo-style clouds above the dining table, a lobster tank, a fire pit and, at the bow, a five-ton stainless-steel Art Deco albatross figurehead . Nick Flashman, a former yacht captain who had joined Imperial, oversaw the project. Zuretti, a French firm, did the interior design.

Sébastien Gey, the director at Zuretti, said in an interview that the yacht’s owner — whom he declined to name because of nondisclosure agreements — was deeply involved in its design and construction, making frequent visits as the ship was built and outfitted. It was delivered in 2017.

But even before it was finished, the owner had Lürssen build another, larger superyacht, the Crescent, delivered in 2018, followed by the even bigger 459-foot Scheherazade, which went into service in 2020. Most of the planning and details for those two vessels were left to Mr. Kochman, recalled Mr. Gey.

That, Mr. Flashman said, was not unusual. “The client may be fully immersed in the project, he might not be,” he said in a phone interview. “I channel everything through Mr. Kochman.”

While Imperial Yachts oversees the projects, Lürssen, based in Bremen, receives payments directly from yacht owners, a company spokesman said. Lürssen is following “all sanctions and associated laws,” he added.

“We are not currently working with anyone on the sanctions list and we have shared all requested information with the authorities, with whom we continue to work,” the spokesman said in an email.

Mr. Gey, from the French design firm, said it does not work with people under sanctions.

The owner of all three vessels — at least on paper — was Eduard Khudainatov, a onetime pig breeder who is a protégé of Mr. Sechin, according to interviews with two people with direct knowledge of his role. Documents filed in a Fiji court show Mr. Khudainatov’s ownership of two of them. He was president of Rosneft when Mr. Sechin served as deputy prime minister. After stepping down from that post in 2013, he began buying up oil companies.

In 2020 Proekt, an independent Russian media outlet, citing an unnamed acquaintance, described him as a compliant and agreeable lieutenant: “Khudainatov knew how to give the impression of a simpleton, which is why he managed to please many bosses and make a career.”

Mr. Khudainatov, 61, had another appealing quality: Unlike Mr. Sechin or Mr. Timchenko, he was not under any sanctions.

But according to U.S. investigators, Imperial Yachts brokered the sale of the Amadea late last year to Suleiman Kerimov, a Russian government official and billionaire investor who has been on the U.S. sanctions list since 2018. He was among a group of seven oligarchs who the American officials said “benefit from the Putin regime and play a key role in advancing Russia’s malign activities.”

Showing that he was the new owner was key in what so far appears to be a successful effort by U.S. officials to persuade a Fijian court that the Amadea could be seized. The ship may leave this week. But in arguing its case, the U.S. investigators lacked official documents showing that Mr. Kerimov was the owner. Feizal Haniff, a lawyer in Fiji, disputed the U.S. claims, saying that Mr. Khudainatov remains the owner of the Amadea, controlling it through an offshore company.

In an affidavit, Timothy J. Bergen, special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said that Mr. Khudainatov, who doesn’t appear on lists of Russia’s richest people, was a “clean, unsanctioned straw owner” of the Amadea and the Scheherazade. Mr. Bergen said that Imperial Yachts, referred to as “Company A” in his affidavit, “has a practice of concealing yacht ownership behind nested shell companies” and using stand-ins like Mr. Khudainatov “in order to conceal the true beneficial owner.”

Mr. Clark, the lawyer for Imperial Yachts, said the company “would never knowingly create structures to hide or conceal ownership, nor would we knowingly broker deals to sanctioned individuals.”

Mr. Khudainatov, Mr. Timchenko and Mr. Kerimov didn’t return emails and phone calls seeking comment.

One thing is clear, according to the U.S. task force: Members of Mr. Kerimov’s family were on board the Amadea earlier this year, based on investigators’ interviews with crew members, reviews of emails between the ship and Imperial, and other documents from the superyacht including copies of passports.

On Jan. 21, Mr. Gey, the French designer, received an email from the captain of the Amadea. G2 — Imperial’s code name for Firuza Kerimova, Mr. Kerimov’s wife, according to the affidavit from the F.B.I. agent — was unhappy with the design of the electrical sockets in the guest bathrooms. They were in the cupboards, inconveniencing the family on their Caribbean tour.

The captain had been told of the request by Ms. Pastukhova, the Imperial client coordinator. Mr. Gey booked a flight and a hotel in St. Barts.

A few days later, Imperial Yachts signed off on another request. “Mr. Kochman has granted permission to sail to Antigua,” Ms. Pastukhova wrote to Ms. Kerimova. Mr. Kochman’s approval was also needed for a new onboard pizza oven.

“He wants to have an eye on everything, everything, everything,” Mr. Gey said.

An Italian Downton Abbey

With its colorful homes aging gracefully in the Mediterranean sun, and its harbor holding dinghies in neat rows, Portofino is the archetypal Italian seaside village. Strict conservation laws, in place since the rule of Benito Mussolini, are meant to ensure that it stays that way.

Portofino is a playground of the rich. Superyachts clutter the coast. Last month, Kourtney Kardashian was married there. And these days, a massive construction crane looms over the village, dominating the skyline.

Beneath the crane is Villa Altachiara, a 30-room mansion built in the late 19th century by a British earl. His son, the fifth Earl of Carnarvon, sponsored the expedition that discovered the pharaoh Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922. Some locals believe the villa is cursed. In 2001, its owner, an Italian countess, fell to her death from the steep hill leading to the sea, her body washing up in France.

The name Altachiara is an Italian translation of Highclere , the palatial Carnarvon estate in Hampshire where “Downton Abbey” was filmed.

When the villa, complete with a helipad, a pool and an eight-acre park, was sold in 2015, everyone in Portofino soon knew who the new proprietor was. “Villa Altachiara will speak Russian,” read a headline in the Genoa newspaper. The owner, the paper reported, was Eduard Khudainatov.

The cast of characters restoring Villa Altachiara to its former glory is familiar. Mr. Kochman’s BLD Management is supervising the project. Mr. Gey is helping to oversee the local and international artisans restoring the interior of the mansion. Yachtline 1618 , an Italian high-end carpentry company that has worked on Imperial Yachts projects, is also involved.

It has been seven years since the purchase, and construction was underway this winter, but the work stopped and the crews left at about the time of the Russian incursion into Ukraine, several local residents said. The towering crane remains, along with some green nets meant to help restore the erosion-preventing terracing.

Locals have never seen Mr. Khudainatov. Mariangela Canale, owner of the town’s 111-year-old bakery, said she was worried that Portofino would become a place where the homes were mere investments, owned by wealthy people who rarely visited, and the community would lose its soul. “Even the richest residents have always come for a chat or to buy my focaccia bread with their children, or have dinner in the piazza,” she said. “They live with us.”

Company records indicate that Mr. Kochman got into the villa business years after his yacht business was flourishing. BLD Management was set up in Jersey in 2016 through Fiduchi Group , the same offshore corporate services firm that registered Imperial Yachts. Mr. Kochman owns 5 percent of each company; the rest is hidden by a company called Fiduchi Trustees Limited. Both Mr. Kochman and Fiduchi declined to comment on the shareholding.

Much of BLD’s business is in Russia, especially around the Moscow area where it builds dachas for wealthy Russians, often with interior designs by Zuretti and carpentry by Yachtline 1618. BLD’s website lists a Moscow address and is in English and Russian.

But the idea is the same as with Imperial Yachts: work in total secrecy.

“Everything is under very strict nondisclosure agreements,” Mr. Gey said. “It’s a standard in the industry.”

He added, “It’s not like there is something to hide.”

Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting.

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

Gaia Pianigiani is a reporter based in Italy for The New York Times.  More about Gaia Pianigiani

Julian E. Barnes is a national security reporter based in Washington, covering the intelligence agencies. Before joining The Times in 2018, he wrote about security matters for The Wall Street Journal. More about Julian E. Barnes

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Yachts, planes, firms and elites linked to Putin targeted for sanctions

June 2, 2022 / 11:53 AM EDT / AP

The U.S. announced new sanctions Thursday on Russian oligarchs and elites, including some of the richest men in Europe and their families, as well as penalties targeting more Kremlin officials, businessmen linked to President Vladimir Putin and their yachts, aircraft and firms that manage them.

The latest U.S. penalties imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine also include Sergei Roldugin, considered a custodian of Putin's offshore wealth.

Also included in the announcement by the departments of Treasury, State and Commerce are sanctions on God Nisanov, one of the richest men in Europe, and Alexey Mordashov, one of Russia's wealthiest billionaires, along with his wife and two adult children.

The actions are part of President Joe Biden's promise, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, to pursue Russian elites' "ill-gotten gains."

"Russia's elites, up to and including President Putin, rely on complex support networks to hide, move, and maintain their wealth and luxury assets ," Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial Intelligence, said in a statement.

"We will continue to enforce our sanctions and expose the corrupt systems by which President Putin and his elites enrich themselves," he said.

Imperial Yachts SARL, a Monaco-based yacht brokerage and yachts including the Russia-flagged Graceful and Cayman Islands-flagged Olympia, are identified as blocked property connected to Putin.

The U.S. has worked closely with allied governments in Europe, Asia and elsewhere to impose thousands of sanctions on Russian elites, oligarchs and banks. Allied governments have done everything from barring individuals from trading in Russian gold in the U.S. to banning companies from providing accounting, legal and consulting services to anyone located in Russia.

Until recently, the U.S. and EU have largely allowed Russia's oil and natural gas to continue to flow freely to the rest of the world. However, EU leaders agreed late Monday to cut Russian oil imports by about 90% over the next six months, a move that was considered unthinkable just months ago.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement, "Ukraine is fighting valiantly to defend its people and its independence with unprecedented assistance from the United States and countries around the world. The United States will continue to support the people of Ukraine while promoting accountability for President Putin and those enabling Russian aggression."

Others included in the latest round of sanctions are Yury Slyusar, president of United Aircraft Corp.; Vitaly Savelyev, Russia's transport minister; Maxim Reshetnikov, the country's minister of economic development; Irek Envarovich Faizullin, the minister of construction, housing and utilities; and Dmitriy Yuryevich Grigorenkothe, deputy prime minister and chief of the government staff.

Earlier this year, Treasury, the Justice Department and other agencies convened a task force known as REPO — short for Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs — to work with other countries to investigate and prosecute oligarchs and individuals allied with Putin.

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