Russian Yacht.Photo: FATIH CETIN/AFP via Getty
Among those assets? Multi-million-dollar superyachts, which have found themselves adrift —sometimes literally — as the fighting continues.
Sechin’s yacht, named Amore Velo, was confiscated as its crew tried to depart from the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat, according to a translatedletterfrom the French Ministry of Economy and Finance. The ship was initially scheduled to leave the port in April as it underwent repairs.
“At the time of the inspection, the ship was making arrangements to sail urgently, without having completed the planned work,” the ministry explained.
Other vessels belonging to sanctioned oligarchs have been spotted in waters outside of Russia — but they haven’t had an easy journey attempting to dock.
And more yacht seizures could be coming, as PresidentJoe Bidenhimself suggested in his State of the Union speech, addressing Russia’s elite when saying that his administration would “find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets.”
Perhaps anticipating trouble, billionaire and Russian oil shareholder Vagit Alekperov’s yacht, meanwhile,turned off its tracking sensorearlier this month, effectively disappearing from radar around the time other vessels began to be seized. While not sanctioned himself, theWall Street Journalreports that Alkperov has close ties to Putin, and could be among those hit with future sanctions.
As Insider reports, itremains unclear who will ultimately payto dock and maintain the yachts (a bill that could amount to hundreds of millions of dollars for each vessel), as the oligarchs themselves may either refuse to pay or be unable to, due tosanctions on their financial transactions.
Russia’sattack on Ukrainecontinues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyycalled for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
source: people.com
