DOING MORE THAN THE UK*
Germany seized the world's largest mega-yacht worth $600 million belonging to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, according to Forbes reportTaiyler Simone Mitchell
Wed, March 2, 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, poses for a photo with USM Holdings founder, businessman Alisher Usmanov during an awarding ceremony in Moscow's Kremlin, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017
Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP
Sanctions against Russia and its oligarchs have been implemented by several countries.
A Russian billionaire had his yacht seized by German authorities Wednesday, according to Forbes.
Alisher Usmanov has spoken highly of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past.
Germany seized Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov's mega-yacht on Wednesday, according to Forbes, which cited multiple unnamed sources.
Usmanov's yacht, which has been docked in Hamburg, Germany, for months for a refitting, is the first to be seized since Russia's attack on Ukraine began on February 24.
Dilbar, a 512-foot yacht that weighs 15,917 tons, "is the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage," according to Lürssen, the German ship's maker.
Usmanov bought the custom-built yacht for an estimated $600 million and it took 52 months to build, according to Forbes.
Sanctions against Russia and its oligarchs have been implemented by several countries.
A Russian billionaire had his yacht seized by German authorities Wednesday, according to Forbes.
Alisher Usmanov has spoken highly of Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past.
Germany seized Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov's mega-yacht on Wednesday, according to Forbes, which cited multiple unnamed sources.
Usmanov's yacht, which has been docked in Hamburg, Germany, for months for a refitting, is the first to be seized since Russia's attack on Ukraine began on February 24.
Dilbar, a 512-foot yacht that weighs 15,917 tons, "is the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage," according to Lürssen, the German ship's maker.
Usmanov bought the custom-built yacht for an estimated $600 million and it took 52 months to build, according to Forbes.
The US State Department was unable to confirm to Insider if the yacht was indeed seized. Usmanov and Germany's Federal Foreign Office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Many countries, including the US and the European Union, have implemented sanctions — financial consequences applied by one party to another — against Russian banks, Russian oligarchs, and even Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an effort to end the country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Usmanov's assets were frozen as part of sanctions levied by the European Union, according to the Guardian. After the European Union announced sanctions against Usmanov and other Russian oligarchs, he stepped down as President of the International Fencing Federation, one of his companies.
"I believe that such a decision is unfair, and the reasons employed to justify the sanctions are a set of false and defamatory allegations damaging my honor, dignity, and business reputation," Usmanov said in a statement on the company's website.
"I hereby suspend the exercise of my duties as the President of the International Fencing Federation effective immediately until justice is restored," he added.
The oligarch has historically supported Russian President Vladimir Putin, though he has not commented on the current attack on Ukraine.
"I am proud that I know Putin, and the fact that everybody does not like him is not Putin's problem," the Uzbekistan-born oligarch told Forbes in a 2010 interview.
*LONDON IS THE OLIGARCHS HOME BASE
Russia billionaires move superyachts to Maldives as sanctions tighten, data shows
FILE PHOTO: St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF)
Wed, March 2, 2022
In this article:
Alisher Usmanov
Uzbek-born Russian business magnate
Oleg Deripaska
Russian businessman
By Alasdair Pal
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -At least five superyachts owned by Russian billionaires were anchored or cruising on Wednesday in Maldives, an Indian Ocean island nation that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, ship tracking data showed.
The vessels' arrival in the archipelago off the coast of Sri Lanka follows the imposition of severe Western sanctions on Russia in reprisal for its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Late on Wednesday Forbes reported that Germany had seized Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov's mega yacht in a Hamburg shipyard.
Usmanov was on a list of billionaires to face sanctions from the European Union on Monday. A Forbes report based on three sources in the yacht industry said his 512-foot yacht Dilbar, valued at $600 million, was seized by German authorities.
German authorities did not immediately respond to Reuters inquiries. Forbes said representatives for Usmanov did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier, the Clio superyacht, owned by Oleg Deripaska, the founder of aluminium giant Rusal, who was sanctioned by the United States in 2018, was anchored off the capital Male on Wednesday, according to shipping database MarineTraffic.
The Titan, owned by Alexander Abramov, a co-founder of steel producer Evraz, arrived on Feb. 28.
Three further yachts owned by Russian billionaires were seen cruising in Maldives waters on Wednesday, the data showed. They include the 88-metre (288 ft) Nirvana owned by Russia's richest man, Vladimir Potanin. Most vessels were last seen anchored in Middle Eastern ports earlier in the year.
A spokesperson for Maldives' government did not respond to a request for comment.
The United States has said it will take strict action to seize property of sanctioned Russians.
"This coming week, we will launch a multilateral Transatlantic task force to identify, hunt down, and freeze the assets of sanctioned Russian companies and oligarchs – their yachts, their mansions, and any other ill-gotten gains that we can find and freeze under the law," the White House said in a tweet on Sunday.
Washington imposed sanctions on Deripaska and other influential Russians in 2018 because of their ties to President Vladimir Putin after alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, which Moscow denies.
(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in New Delhi
FILE PHOTO: St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF)
Wed, March 2, 2022
In this article:
Alisher Usmanov
Uzbek-born Russian business magnate
Oleg Deripaska
Russian businessman
By Alasdair Pal
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -At least five superyachts owned by Russian billionaires were anchored or cruising on Wednesday in Maldives, an Indian Ocean island nation that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, ship tracking data showed.
The vessels' arrival in the archipelago off the coast of Sri Lanka follows the imposition of severe Western sanctions on Russia in reprisal for its Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Late on Wednesday Forbes reported that Germany had seized Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov's mega yacht in a Hamburg shipyard.
Usmanov was on a list of billionaires to face sanctions from the European Union on Monday. A Forbes report based on three sources in the yacht industry said his 512-foot yacht Dilbar, valued at $600 million, was seized by German authorities.
German authorities did not immediately respond to Reuters inquiries. Forbes said representatives for Usmanov did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier, the Clio superyacht, owned by Oleg Deripaska, the founder of aluminium giant Rusal, who was sanctioned by the United States in 2018, was anchored off the capital Male on Wednesday, according to shipping database MarineTraffic.
The Titan, owned by Alexander Abramov, a co-founder of steel producer Evraz, arrived on Feb. 28.
Three further yachts owned by Russian billionaires were seen cruising in Maldives waters on Wednesday, the data showed. They include the 88-metre (288 ft) Nirvana owned by Russia's richest man, Vladimir Potanin. Most vessels were last seen anchored in Middle Eastern ports earlier in the year.
A spokesperson for Maldives' government did not respond to a request for comment.
The United States has said it will take strict action to seize property of sanctioned Russians.
"This coming week, we will launch a multilateral Transatlantic task force to identify, hunt down, and freeze the assets of sanctioned Russian companies and oligarchs – their yachts, their mansions, and any other ill-gotten gains that we can find and freeze under the law," the White House said in a tweet on Sunday.
Washington imposed sanctions on Deripaska and other influential Russians in 2018 because of their ties to President Vladimir Putin after alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, which Moscow denies.
(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in New Delhi
Additional reporting by Mohamed Junayd, Editing by William Maclean)
CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Credit Suisse asked investors to destroy documents linked to oligarch yacht loans, report says
Kate Duffy
Wed, March 2, 2022
Man enters Credit Suisse's offices in New York.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Credit Suisse asked investors to destroy documents linked to oligarch yacht loans, report says
Kate Duffy
Wed, March 2, 2022
Man enters Credit Suisse's offices in New York.
Brendan McDermid/Reuters
Credit Suisse asked investors to destroy documents tied to oligarchs' yacht and jet loans, the FT reported
The bank said the request was after a data leak to the media but didn't specify which one, per the FT.
It comes as the US, UK, and the EU sanctioned Russian oligarchs in the wake of Ukraine's invasion.
Credit Suisse asked investors to destroy documents tied to its oligarch and wealthy clients' yacht and private jet loans after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, The Financial Times reported.
The move was part of the Swiss bank's effort to prevent leaks of its dealings with oligarchs who have been sanctioned, according to The FT.
Credit Suisse wrote a letter to investors this week, asking them to "destroy and permanently erase" information linking to a securitisation of loans financed by yachts, private jets, real estate, and financial assets, three sources whose company received the letter, told The FT.
The letter was sent during the week when the US, UK, and the EU issued sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which included sanctioning numerous Russian oligarchs and billionaires.
Credit Suisse wrote in the letter that the request was because of a "recent data leak to the media," which was "verified by our investigators," according to the three people who spoke to The FT.
In late February, leaked data revealed that Credit Suisse managed hundreds of millions of dollars with known criminals and human rights abusers.
The bank declined to comment to Insider and The FT.
Credit Suisse's request comes after The FT reported in early February that the bank had used derivatives to offload risks relating to $2 billion of loans to oligarchs and tycoons.
The FT reported an investor presentation, which showed that one-third of the defaults on Credit Suisse's yacht and aircraft loans in 2017 and 2018 were tied to US sanctions against Russian oligarchs.
Credit Suisse asked investors to destroy documents tied to oligarchs' yacht and jet loans, the FT reported
The bank said the request was after a data leak to the media but didn't specify which one, per the FT.
It comes as the US, UK, and the EU sanctioned Russian oligarchs in the wake of Ukraine's invasion.
Credit Suisse asked investors to destroy documents tied to its oligarch and wealthy clients' yacht and private jet loans after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, The Financial Times reported.
The move was part of the Swiss bank's effort to prevent leaks of its dealings with oligarchs who have been sanctioned, according to The FT.
Credit Suisse wrote a letter to investors this week, asking them to "destroy and permanently erase" information linking to a securitisation of loans financed by yachts, private jets, real estate, and financial assets, three sources whose company received the letter, told The FT.
The letter was sent during the week when the US, UK, and the EU issued sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which included sanctioning numerous Russian oligarchs and billionaires.
Credit Suisse wrote in the letter that the request was because of a "recent data leak to the media," which was "verified by our investigators," according to the three people who spoke to The FT.
In late February, leaked data revealed that Credit Suisse managed hundreds of millions of dollars with known criminals and human rights abusers.
The bank declined to comment to Insider and The FT.
Credit Suisse's request comes after The FT reported in early February that the bank had used derivatives to offload risks relating to $2 billion of loans to oligarchs and tycoons.
The FT reported an investor presentation, which showed that one-third of the defaults on Credit Suisse's yacht and aircraft loans in 2017 and 2018 were tied to US sanctions against Russian oligarchs.
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