oligarch yachts

Photos show the luxury mega yachts that belong to Russian oligarchs — some of whom have hidden their ships as the UK ramps up sanctions.

• Sanctions targeting Russian oligarchs threaten their luxury assets — including their mega yachts.
• Many countries have implemented sanctions targeting Putin and Russian oligarchs following Russia's attack on Ukraine.
• Insider compiled a photo list of some of the luxury vessels.

Russian billionaires' assets — including their megayachts — are in danger of being seized as countries continue to impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

US President Joe Biden announced that the US will make a substantial effort to seize Russian oligarchs' assets.

"We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets," Biden said in his State of The Union address on March 1. "We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."

Since the US is not in "armed conflict" with Russia it may be legally tricky to seize assets like yachts, Insider reported . 

"The threshold for seizing assets under sanctions is that the US has to be in armed conflict with the owner of the assets," Brian O'Toole, an economic sanctions expert, tweeted last Friday. "The idea of turning Russian corruption into Ukrainian assistance is lovely but this idea is illegal, period."

It can also be difficult to find out who the owners of these yachts are.

Offshore companies typically own the luxury vessels, but enough "public speculation" pointing to a Russian oligarch as an owner is likely "sufficient for a seizure," Insider reported . 

Many of the oligarchs moved their yachts to places where they can't be seized, such as the Maldives, which does not have an extradition treaty with the US.

Insider has compiled a list of photos with mega yachts linked to Russian oligarchs.

Galactica Super Nova

Amid sanctions and seizures targeting Russian billionaires, Galactica Super Nova — said to be linked to the CEO of Russian oil firm Lukoil — is no longer detectable via ship tracker site MarineTraffic , The Daily Beast reported Thursday. 

The superyacht — whose owner is named Vagit Alekperov — had just been in Montenegro last week, Insider reported .

Alekperov is not currently the target of any sanctions. 

The yacht is almost 230 feet long and can hold up to 12 guests and 16 crew members, according to the ship maker Heesen Yachts .

The ship also has a helicopter pad that can turn into an outdoor movie theatre, also according to the ship maker.

The Amore Vero

France seized Amore Vero, a 281-foot megayacht linked to oligarch and politician Igor Sechin, on March 3.

The yacht, Amore Vero, is estimated to have a value of $120 million . It has a swimming pool that doubles as a helicopter pad and a private deck for its owner, according to Oceana , the ship maker.

Per The Wall Street Journal , officials believe that Amore Vero is "owned by a company whose majority shareholder was Mr. Sechin," though the outlet does not provide the name of the company.

Sechin is the CEO of Rosneft, Russia's oil giant, and a former deputy prime minister. A known Putin ally , he was sanctioned by both the EU and the US before France seized his yacht last week .

Sechin was one of seven oligarchs sanctioned by the UK on Thursday. 

People in Russia have referred to Sechin as "Darth Vader" and "the scariest man on Earth," according to The Guardian .

Alisher Usmanov has been sanctioned by the EU, the US, the UK, and Switzerland. His boat remains in Germany, but the country says it hasn't seized it.

Usmanov's Dilbar is "is the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage," according to Lürssen , the German ship's maker.

It's 512-foot long and weighs 15,917 tons. The ship has been docked in Germany for months undergoing a "refitting," but last week Forbes reported that it was unable to leave the dock.

Germany, however, has denied that it formally seized Dilbar.

Forbes said that "the German federal customs agency is the 'responsible enforcement authority' and would have to issue an export waiver for the yacht to leave, and that 'no yacht leaves port that is not allowed to do so.'" 

Still, multiple outlets reported that Usmanov has fired the crew on the Dilbar.

The Uzbekistan-born oligarch is a supporter of Putin. 

"I am proud that I know Putin, and the fact that everybody does not like him is not Putin's problem," Usmanov told Forbes  in a 2010 interview. 

Suleyman Kerimov was sanctioned by the US, and his son, Said Kerimov, owns ICE. The superyacht is worth is an estimated $170 million.

The Kerimov family owns the majority of Polyus Gold, Russia's biggest gold producer .

ICE was dubbed "Superyacht of the Year" in 2006 at the World Super Yacht Awards, according to Boat International . It is approximately 300 feet and has its own resident helicopter, according to Club Yacht .

Quantum Blue

Sergey Galitsky's ship, Quantum Blue, has an estimated value of $250 million and is last known to be docked in Monaco.

Galitsky is the founder of one of Russia's largest supermarket chains, Magnit.

His name is not currently on the list of sanctioned Russian oligarchs,

Though he also is not the target of any current sanctions, Vladimir Potanin's superyacht, Nirvana, is one of at least four ships docked in the Maldives .

Potanin is the Former First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and was a longtime trustee for the Guggenheim museum before stepping down on March 2, according to The New York Times . 

Nirvana is not Potanin's only superyacht, he also owns another named Barbara, according to Fortune .

Alexander Abramov's Titan, Alexei Mordashovis' Nord, and Oleg Deripaska's Clio are also located in the Maldives.

At 533 feet long, Roman Abramovich's Eclipse was the largest yacht on the globe until 2013 when the 590-foot Azzam overthrew it. 

Abramovich, once Russia's richest man , is the departing owner of Chelsea FC soccer club. He was sanctioned by the UK on Thursday along with six other oligarchs, Insider reported .

The luxury boat has a host of amenities, including two helicopter pads, a missile detection system, and a swimming pool more than 50 feet long. It also has space for up to 36 guests and 70 crew members, according to Yacht Harbour .

Insider previously reported that it is currently docked in the Caribbean .

Another yacht named Solaris is linked to Abramovich. The vessel, worth approximately $600 million, left Spain Tuesday after having been under repair since late 2021, Insider reported.

Solaris is 460 feet and can host a total of 36 guests, according to SuperYachtFan .

Tango, owned by the US-sanctioned Viktor Vekselberg, is currently located in Palma, Spain.

Tango can host up to 14 people and is 254 feet long, won the 2012 World Superyacht Awards, and has an estimated worth of $120 million, according to SuperYachtFan .

Vekselberg is a Ukrainian-born businessman who owns Renova, a Russian conglomerate, according to The Guardian .

He was one of nearly two dozen Russian oligarchs and officials that the US sanctioned on Friday.

The US Treasury Department claims that he has close ties with Putin, and has announced that assets such as his $90 million jet and his superyacht Tango have been frozen, Insider reported .

Graceful, a yacht reported to belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin, left Germany just before his invasion of Ukraine, Insider reported in early February.

—Manu Gómez (@GDarkconrad) February 9, 2022

Graceful is 270 feet long and has a saloon, gym, spa, library, and an indoor pool nearly 50 feet long that doubles as a dance floor.

Scheherazade

A mystery yacht remains untouched as the owner remains a mystery.

The owner of the 459-foot Scheherazade is suspected to be a Russian billionaire, though the owner was never publically identified, The New York Times reported .

Many people believe it belongs to Vladimir Putin, nicknaming the vessel "Putin's Yacht."

SuperYachtFan estimates the ship's value sits at $700 million.

Stella Maris

Stella Maris is linked to oil and gas tycoon Rashid Sardarov. It was last seen in Nice, France, according to The Washington Post .

The luxury vessel is priced at $75 million, is 237 feet long, and can hold up to 14 guests, per SuperYachtFan .

Sardarov is not being sanctioned. 

Sailing Yacht A

Sailing Yacht A is believed to belong to Andrey Melnichenko. The boat was seized by Spanish officials Saturday, Reuters reported .

The ship is more than 465 feet long and can hold up to 20 guests, according to SuperYachtFan . The website says that Sailing Yacht A also features an underwater observation area and has a value of more than $500 million.

Melnichenko is an EU-sanctioned Russian billionaire who works in coal and fertilizers, according to Forbes . The magazine also reported that he owns a second yacht, Motor Yacht A, which is similar to a submarine. 

Oligarch Gennady Timchenko's superyacht "Lena" was seized in the port of Sanremo, Italy on March 5, Reuters reported.

Timchenko is the owner of a private investment group, Volga Group and a shareholder of Bank Rossiya. The oligarch has been sanctioned by the EU, which describes him as a "long-time acquaintance of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin."

Timchenko was also sanctioned by the UK on February 22. 

The superyacht is valued at around 50 million euros ($54 million), Reuters reported. It has fold-down terraces, as well as an "owner's suite" which opens out onto the sea with "gull-wing doors," according to its manufacturer, Sanlorenzo.

Italian authorities also seized a $71 million super-yacht belonging to one of the wealthiest men in Russia , Alexei Mordashov. 

The 215-ft "Lady M" superyacht was seized in the Port of Imperia, northern Italy, a source confirmed to Reuters.

The yacht can accommodate up to six guests on and also has accommodation for four crew members, per the Superyacht Times .

The oligarch, who is the chairman of steel mining company, Severstal, has also been sanctioned by the EU, which says Mordashov is "benefiting from his links with Russian decision-makers." Mordashov has insisted he has "absolutely nothing to do" with Russia's attack on Ukraine. 

The Oligarch moved $1.3 billion worth of shares in travel company, TUI, to an offshore tax haven on the day he was hit by sanctions, Insider's Huileng Tan previously reported. 

He was also added to the UK government's sanctions list on March 15.

Some superyachts belonging to Russian billionaires are currently seeking refuge in the Maldives, including a yacht owned by billionaire Oleg Deripaska, Reuters reported.

The billionaire, who is also the founder of one of Russia's largest industrial groups, Basic Element, was added to the UK's sanctions list on March 10.

Also built by Lürssen, the superyacht - which is around 238 feet long - can accommodate 18 guests in nine cabins, per Superyacht Fan.

The superyacht Valerie - worth $140 million - was seized in Barcelona on Monday, Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, said on La Sexta television, per Reuters.  

Sanchez did not confirm the owner of the yacht, but two sources confirmed to Reuters that it belonged to Sergei Chemezov, who is said to be a close ally of Putin.

The oligarch, who was previously a KGB spy with Putin in the former Soviet Union, recently said that Russia would emerge victorious from Western sanctions, Reuters previously reported . 

Chemezov, who is the CEO of Russian defense conglomerate Rostec was added to the US sanctions list on March 3. 

His yacht is 279 feet long and can accommodate 17 guests in eight suites, per Superyacht Fan.

Crescent, most likely owned by Igor Sechin but also rumored to belong to Putin, was the third yacht Spain seized as the West ramps up sanctions, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The superyacht is 443-feet long and costs an estimated $600 million, according to  SuperyachtFan, which also says the vessel hosts a retractable helicopter hangar and a large pool with a glass bottom.

Lady Anastasia

Lady Anastasia is owned by Russian oligarch Alexander Mikheyev but was seized by Spain on Tuesday, according to Reuters . 

The boat is almost 160 feet long and can hold up to 10 guests, according to Yacht Harbour .

Mikheyev, who was sanctioned by the EU, is the head of a helicopters division under Rostec, New York Mag reported .

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U.S. wants to seize Russian oligarchs' yachts, homes and jets. How is that legal?

President Joe Biden gave a stern warning Tuesday night to Russia's richest billionaires and business elite that the United States and its allies will "find and seize their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets" in retaliation for the country's military invasion of Ukraine .

"We're coming for your ill-begotten gains," Biden said during his State of the Union address to applause from both Democrats and Republicans.

On Wednesday, the Department of Justice announced the formation of a special unit, the Task Force KleptoCapture, that will lead the charge to seize proceeds from "the crimes of Russian oligarchs." One of its first steps will be locating their U.S.-based holdings — an onerous undertaking because many are known to launder their money through real estate , as well as other alternative assets, such as art, jewelry and yachts. And financial experts say those oligarchs are able to cloak their true identities as owners by creating shell companies and benefiting from major disclosure loopholes in private equity and luxury goods.

Tracing money and asset ownership through foreign banks, while a time-consuming and Byzantine process, is already being done by a Justice Department-operated "kleptocracy unit" launched in 2010, said Stefan Cassella, a former federal prosecutor and an expert in asset forfeiture law. But the creation of an official task force specifically targeting Russian oligarchs is an encouraging sign, he said, because it shows "resources are being added so now they can take on more of these cases."

If federal investigators connect the dots between an oligarch and that person's assets here, what then is the likelihood the U.S. government can swoop in and ultimately confiscate the individual's sources of wealth?

For starters, it's legal under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act , which has its roots in the 18th century when America would seize cargo from foreign ships that didn't pay a customs or import tax. It also grew in use as a drug law enforcement tool in the 1980s, and it's a common tool against terrorists and fugitives.

The law allows one's assets to be forfeited to the federal government in connection with a long list of federal or foreign crimes, but it's a separate action from any criminal litigation. Civil forfeiture laws have become popular ways for state and local governments to raise revenue, although critics say it's a practice abused by law enforcement to profit off of criminal activity.

Under the law, prosecutors can consider freezing the asset or seizing it, which requires a probable cause standard and potentially a warrant from a judge.

The freezing or blocking of an asset means it can't be sold or transferred and U.S. citizens can't engage in any transaction involving it, said Jimmy Gurulé, a law professor at the University of Notre Dame and a former undersecretary for enforcement at the Department of the Treasury during the George W. Bush administration.

"You can still live on the yacht, but you certainly can't transfer it," he said.

Seizing the asset goes further. If prosecutors believe it has a specific link to illegal activity, including that it was derived from it, they may seek to confiscate it and ultimately have the U.S. gain ownership.

A person whose asset is being seized has the opportunity to get it back through the courts. If the person chooses to do so, the burden of proof is on the U.S. government to show the asset is connected to criminal activity. In the case of a Russian oligarch, prosecutors won't need to furnish evidence that person or the asset is directly tied to the conflict in Ukraine or the funding of attacks, Cassella said.

"They have to prove the underlying crime, but it doesn't have to do with war crimes or Ukraine," he said.

During court proceedings, the person may still be given access to the asset or the government can get a restraining order in which the person can't touch it. For something like an apartment building that may have tenants and where the income is potentially at the center of illegal activity, the government may ask that any rents be paid into an escrow pending the resolution of the case.

The U.S. has seized assets from foreign leaders and business figures before. Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the vice president of Equatorial Guinea, was accused of using his position in 2011 as the country’s then-minister of agriculture and forestry to amass more than $300 million through corrupt practices and money laundering that federal prosecutors say also broke U.S. law.

The Justice Department took Obiang to court and eventually settled , requiring him to sell a Malibu, California, mansion he bought for $30 million, a Ferrari and various pieces of Michael Jackson memorabilia. More than $10 million of the settlement was forfeited to the U.S. (The civil forfeiture matter was docketed as the United States v. One Michael Jackson Signed Thriller Jacket.)

A civil forfeiture isn't the only way the government can get hold of an asset. If someone is convicted criminally, the person's wealth can also be seized during the sentencing phase if prosecutors show it's linked to the illegal activity.

But convicting a Russian oligarch of a crime would likely be more difficult than the civil forfeiture route since it requires bringing them to the U.S. to stand trial, Cassella said.

Ultimately, what happens to an asset once the U.S. acquires it?

Gurulé said it could be sold at auction with the profits going back to the government's coffers or it could be repurposed.

As a federal prosecutor in California, he recalls once flying in a Drug Enforcement Administration plane to Mexico. That plane, it turned out, had been confiscated by federal officials from a Mexican cartel, which previously used it to transport drugs to the U.S.

Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality.

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The U.S. seized Russian oligarchs' superyachts. Now, American taxpayers pay the price

Ayesha Rascoe

Ayesha Rascoe speaks with Stephanie Baker, senior writer at Bloomberg News, about the complications involved in seizing and maintaining superyachts owned by sanctioned Russian billionaires.

Copyright © 2022 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

US alleges sanctioned Russian oligarch’s niece made payments for his $300M yacht

The yacht, known as the Amadea, was seized by officials in 2022, with the U.S. alleging billionaire Putin ally Suleiman Kerimov is the ultimate beneficial owner.

U.S. authorities claim to be one step closer to proving a seized $300 million mega yacht is owned by sanctioned Russian Suleiman Kerimov, according to new court filings that detail alleged payments for the boat from the oligarch’s niece.

The yacht, a 348-foot luxury vessel known as Amadea, was seized in Fiji in 2022 by local officials at the request of the United States, as part of the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to identify and seize assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Kerimov, known for throwing lavish parties and for his reportedly close relationship with Vladimir Putin, was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2018. Britain and the European Union later followed suit.

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Nov 16, 2022.

However, since the Amadea’s seizure, another Russian oligarch, Eduard Khudainatov, who is not currently under U.S. sanctions, has claimed to be the yacht’s rightful owner — an assertion U.S. authorities deny.

Prosecutors allege that new documents show Kerimov’s niece, Alisa Gadzhieva, entered into a loan agreement with the company that owns the yacht, Errigal Marine Limited, and then made two payments to Khudainatov’s holding company, Invest International Finance Ltd, Intelligence Online reported .

“The United States takes sanction evasion seriously and will use all tools at its disposal to ensure that sanctioned individuals are held accountable for their crimes,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in an earlier statement . 

The ship belongs to an array of high-value luxury items linked to Kerimov, including private jets and sportscars, like a $650,000 Ferrari that Kerimov totaled in a fiery crash on the French Riviera in 2006. 

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The yacht’s seizure followed ICIJ’s Pandora Papers, which included revelations on the offshore financial empire of Kerimov and his closest associates. The investigation showed billions of dollars flowing through opaque offshore shell companies associated with Kerimov, and covert money flows tied to oligarchs and others close to the Kremlin. It also highlighted offshore professionals who have helped oligarchs secretly buy luxury assets like yachts and jets.

Gadzhieva’s brother, Kerimov’s nephew Nariman Gadzhiev, is also under U.S. sanctions for allegedly serving as an assistant and financial facilitator for Kerimov. ICIJ’s reporting showed that, in 2012, a firm registered in Gadzhiev’s name worked with Credit Suisse to secure a $67 million loan for the acquisition of a custom-built Boeing 737 Business Jet as well as a Bombardier Global Express jet. A few years later, an article in Forbes Russia described Kerimov as owning the same kind of Boeing jet.

The Amadea, which is currently in U.S. custody, has already cost over $7 million in taxpayer funds to maintain while the legal battle plays out, The Guardian reported.  

Watch CBS News

Russian oligarchs moving yachts as U.S. tracks down assets

By Catherine Herridge

March 2, 2022 / 9:19 AM EST / CBS News

Yachts owned by Russian billionaires are on the move as the U.S. and its allies seek to hunt down the assets of Russia's wealthiest in direct response to the invasion of Ukraine . The wealthiest Russian money – including Russian President Vladimir Putin's — has pushed to sea.

Data from MarineTraffic, a global intelligence group, shows yachts owned by oligarchs are on the move, including aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska's $65 million Clio and oil executive Vagit Alekperov's $80 million Galactica Super Nova.

"No self-respecting oligarchy exists without a super yacht. And so what we're seeing now is a hightailing it on the high seas," financier and anti-corruption activist Bill Browder told CBS News. 

A super yacht is typically over 40 meters long. The Clio and Galactica are each over 70 meters long. 

In response to Putin's war against Ukraine, the Biden administration created a task force to go after Russian oligarchs' "yachts, luxury apartments, money and their ability to send their kids to fancy college[s] in the West." 

Browder said the goal is to get the oligarchs to pressure Putin to stop the war. 

"We're not ready to engage in military warfare. And so there's an expression: We should fight them in the banks if we can't fight them with tanks,'" he said. 

Some oligarchs have made statements taking issue with the Russian invasion.

Mikhail Fridman, who founded one of Russia's largest private banks, said he does "not believe that war would be a solution." Evgeny Lebedev — the son of an oligarch, and who owns a London newspaper — wrote an op-ed pleading with Putin to "save the world from annihilation." 

The financial pressure is really about undermining support for Putin, both "among rank-and-file Russians as well as the oligarchs who help control the economy," said John Smith, former director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers and enforces all foreign sanctions.

Weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine , the $100 million "Graceful" — believed to be owned by Putin himself— left a German port for safer Russian waters. 

"He's a former KGB agent, and he has worked his entire career to appear on the surface to be the common man — when below the surface, it's apparent that he has significant wealth stored," said Smith.

Former government officials and experts told CBS News that cutting off Putin's revenue from the energy industry is key but this is an area where both the U.S. and its allies are vulnerable. Further disrupting the energy supply could send prices even higher .

• Vladimir Putin

Catherine Herridge is a senior investigative correspondent for CBS News covering national security and intelligence based in Washington, D.C.

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