Russian oligarch’s yacht sells for $37.5 million

The maritime judicial authority of the British territory announced, this Tuesday (27), the sale of the yacht of Russian tycoon Dimitri Pumpianski, target of British sanctions after the Russian offensive in Ukraine, for US$ 37.5 million (R$ 200 million). ) in Gibraltar, where he was detained in March.

That authority, known as the British Admiralty department, said in a statement that it would not reveal the name of the buyer.

The money from the sale will allow authorities in Gibraltar, a small territory in the far south of Spain, to compensate the oligarch’s creditors.

In total, Gibraltar received 63 bids in the auction for the “Axiom”, a luxury yacht 72 meters in length and the Maltese flag.

The boat was seized after a complaint filed by the American bank JP Morgan.

In December, this bank provided a loan of €20.5 million ($20 million) to a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. It had as a shareholder a company from Cyprus, owned by Dimitri Pumpianski.

The bank considered that the inclusion of the oligarch on the list of Russian personalities subject to British sanctions constituted, among other things, a breach of the loan agreement.

The sanctions lead to the freezing of the assets of the affected entrepreneurs, which puts the repayment of loans at risk.

For this reason, JP Morgan appealed to the Gibraltarian authorities to seize the yacht. The vessel had been registered as one of the guarantees for the loan.

Owner of pipeline giant TMK, Pumpianski has also been targeted by European Union sanctions since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Several countries, such as Spain, Italy and France, have confiscated yachts from the richest Russians as part of these European sanctions, which freeze all their assets in the EU.