More of this, please.
Source: Yahoo
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.
It hasn't been the best of weeks for Usmanov. Everton in the English Premier League cut all ties to his companies this week as well.
Everton have suspended all sponsorship deals with Russian companies backed by Alisher Usmanov as the club come under increasing pressure to cut ties with the EU-sanctioned oligarch.
The Uzbekistan-born billionaire is a close business associate of Everton’s majority shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, and involved in several multimillion-pound sponsorship deals with the club.
UPDATE: Forbes has now issued a correction as the originator of this story.
CORRECTION: According to the Ministry for Economy and Innovation in the German state of Hamburg, the country’s authorities have not seized the Dilbar, a 512-foot yacht owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov. As Forbes reported on Wednesday, work on the ship has been halted at the Hamburg shipyard where it has been stationed for refitting work since October.
Three sources had told Forbes it had been seized, but a representative for Usmanov cited the statement from the ministry in Hamburg to confirm that it had not. In its statement, the ministry elaborated that the German federal customs agency is the “responsible enforcement authority” and would have to issue an export waiver for the yacht to leave, and that “no yacht leaves port that is not allowed to do so.”
The yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands and owned through a holding company, making it difficult to tie directly to Usmanov for the purpose of sanctions. In its statement, the ministry in Hamburg added that restrictions can be imposed on a yacht owned by a sanctioned Russian individual only “if the ownership situation is clearly clarified and all these possessions are also sanctioned.”
