The Axioma was seized by Gibraltar authorities last March after US bank JP Morgan alleged that the yacht’s alleged owner, Dmitry Pubyansky, had defaulted on a $20 million loan.
A $75 million superyacht reportedly owned by a sanctioned Russian billionaire was auctioned off in Gibraltar on Tuesday. It is believed to be the first auction of its kind since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began last February.
The Axioma was seized by Gibraltar authorities last March after US bank JP Morgan alleged that the yacht’s alleged owner, Dmitry Pubyansky, had defaulted on a $20 million loan.
The 72.5m yacht was auctioned in Gibraltar through a system of sealed bids sent electronically, a court spokesman said. The evaluation process of the 63 offers is expected to take 10-14 days.
The superyacht can accommodate 12 people in six cabins and has a swimming pool, spa, cinema room and water sports equipment.
According to court documents cited by Reuters, JP Morgan granted a 20.5 million euro loan to Pyrene Investments Ltd (based in the British Virgin Islands), which is a subsidiary of Furdberg Holding Ltd. Furdberg is owned by Dmitry Pubyansky, who was the guarantor for the loan. The documents state that Pyrene Investments defaulted on the terms of the loan after Pubianski transferred his shares to Furdberg on March 4 and was subsequently sanctioned, preventing repayment of the loan.
The 58-year-old Russian tycoon, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at $2 billion, was sanctioned by the European Union and Britain shortly after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Pubyansky was until March the owner and chairman of steel pipe manufacturer OAO TMK, a supplier to Russian energy giant Gazprom.
The Axioma is the first luxury yacht to be seized and then auctioned since the West imposed sanctions on Russian oligarchs following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
US bank JP Morgan is reportedly only willing to claim the €20.5m owed to it, and the fate of any further proceeds from the sale will be decided by Gibraltar’s judicial authorities.
Dozens of yachts and properties linked to Russian oligarchs have been seized to date in various countries around the world. The US and UK authorities have said they will seek to send the proceeds from the sale of these assets to Ukraine.
James Jaffa, a lawyer at British luxury yacht firm Jaffa & Co who represented Axioma legally before it was seized, however estimated that the yacht is likely to be sold for “much less” than €20m. He stressed that after the auction, the wages of the crew, the shipyard and the maintenance work will have to be paid.
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