Hide and Seek?

Russian oligarchs race to move their luxury yachts to areas out of reach, to avoid seizures and Western sanctions

As a growing number of governments around the world clamp down on Russian billionaires over the invasion of Ukraine, there have been reports that some are prepared to go to any lengths to protect their wealth from sanctions. In recent weeks, the Italian police have seized villas and yachts worth at least €140m (£126m) from four high-profile Russians who were placed on an EU sanctions list. A police source said a villa owned by the billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov on Sardinia, and a villa on Lake Como owned by the Russian state TV host Vladimir Soloviev, had both been seized. In addition, sources confirmed that yachts belonging to Russia’s richest man, Alexei Mordashov, and Gennady Timchenko, who has close ties with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, were impounded overnight in northern Italian ports. Usmanov, an Uzbekistan-born metals and telecoms tycoon, is well known in Italy for owning multiple properties on Sardinia, while Italian media say Mordashov owned a villa worth €66m on the same island.

Taking into account the assets of his whole family, Forbes magazine estimated that Mordashov had an estimated net worth of $29.1bn before sanctions hit.

His 65-metre (215ft) yacht the “Lady M” had a price tag of €65m and was impounded in the north-west port of Imperia, while Timchenko’s ship, Lena, which is worth €50m, was seized in nearby Sanremo, a judicial source said.

Timchenko made a fortune in oil trading and has been described by Putin as one of his closest associates.

But it isn’t just Italy.  

US authorities have suggested that more assets were due to be seized in the coming days as Joe Biden continues to implement sanctions to try to force Russia to withdraw. The U.K. has also taken measures taken to freeze the assets of people and entities placed on the EU list.

In Germany, a nearly $600 million luxury yacht owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, also on the EU's sanctions list, was sitting in a Hamburg shipyard. A spokesman for Hamburg's economic authority said there were no plans for the yacht to be delivered to its owner, without providing further detail. 

The Canadian government has implemented sanctions against hundreds of officials in the Russian regime and a number of oligarchs. The penalties mirror the overall allied effort and are intended to help cripple Russia's economic and political capacity to make war. Among other things, the sanctions bar Canadians from having any financial dealings with the breakaway regions. Canadians also will be barred from purchasing Russian sovereign debt and dealing with two state-backed Russian banks.

French authorities have also implemented seizures, impounding four cargo vessels and one luxury yacht linked to Russia super-rich. Customs officials seized the yacht of Rosneft boss Igor Sechin, who is on the U.S. and EU sanctions lists, before it attempted to flee a French Riviera port, according to the French finance minister.

Elsewhere, in the Maldives, at least five other superyachts anchored or cruising in the Indian Ocean are owned by Russian billionaires island nation, ship tracking data shows - which is of considerable interest to Washington, the European Union and others who have pledged to target the assets of oligarchs who have amassed fortunes and political influence under Russian President Vladimir Putin. A French official said as many as 510 people could be subject to asset freezes.

Though Russian billionaire Roman Abramovichhas not been targeted by U.K. authorities, he has announced his intention to sell Chelsea Football Club. In a statement he promised to donate money from the sale to help victims of the war in Ukraine, though it is not clear if he meant Ukrainians, Russians or both. Foreign Minister Liz Trusshas vowed there is "nowhere for any o Putin's cronies to hide.