Russian billionaire’s yacht, Dilbar, seized by Germany

German Federal Police She said Tuesday that “through extensive investigations despite the concealment abroad” found that the yacht belongs to Gulbakhor Ismailova, the sister of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.

After police in Brussels confirmed that the ship’s owner had been punished, the luxury yacht – named Dilbar, named after Usmanov’s mother, according to the US Treasury Department – was impounded. It’s running handle In the port of Hamburg, Germany.

Meanwhile, in Fiji, police are reported to be investigating a luxury yacht suspected to be owned by Russian oligarchs. Suleiman Karimovwhich docked in the Pacific island nation this week.

Dilbar’s yacht booked in Germany, registered in the Cayman Islands, according to the Treasury, is worth between $600 million and $735 million, with an estimated annual operating cost of $60 million. According to the ship’s maker, Lürssen, with a weight of 15.917 tons, it is the largest yacht in the world by internal volume. Promotes “Its classic look with a subtle ivory hull and bronze accents.”

Usmanov “is known to be close to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of the Russian Security Council and the former president and prime minister of Russia,” said the Treasury Department, claiming that his relations with the Kremlin “enrich him and enable him to lead a luxurious lifestyle.”

In the early days of the invasion, President Biden warned the Russian oligarch: “We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, luxury apartments, and private jets.”

The United States’ pursuit of the fortunes of Russia’s vast oligarchs faces barriers abroad

United State She said On 3 March sanctions were imposed on Usmanov, claiming that he was among the “main elite” who allowed Putin to wage his war on Ukraine. Experts from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Specified in a fact-finding report It was reported on Wednesday that Russia had violated international humanitarian law by deliberately targeting civilians during its invasion of Ukraine. The United States and other countries have accused Russia of committing war crimes there, and Biden said on Tuesday that Putin is committing “Genocide” in Ukraine.

Usmanov, 68, is number 86 on the list of the richest person in the world, with an estimated fortune of $19.1 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The Treasury said he has “huge holdings across multiple sectors” of the Russian economy and internationally, including a 49 percent stake in USM, a holding company that controls Russia’s largest iron ore producer, according to Bloomberg.

Usmanov’s representative was not immediately available, and the United Federation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the case of Fiji, an official at the National Police Command and Control Center Tell Reuters said the captain of the ship, which arrived on Tuesday, is being questioned about how it arrived in Fiji without customs clearance.

Karimov has been sanctioned by the United States, Britain and the European Union, but questions about the ownership of the luxury ship remain. Police have seized the luxury yacht named Amadea, which is 348 feet long and worth $325 million, according to To The Sydney Morning Herald.

US Embassy in Suva Tell The Fiji Times said it “cooperates with the Fijian authorities on this matter” and “is committed to finding and seizing the assets of the oligarch who supported the brutal and unjustified war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine”.

Adila Soliman in London contributed to this report.