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Italy seizes Russian billionaire Melnichenko's Sailing Yacht A

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Reporting by Emilio Parodi in Bergamo and Stevo Vasiljevic in Tivat Writing by Giselda Vagnoni Editing by Frances Kerry

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Ukraine war: £443m superyacht owned by oligarch Andrey Melnichenko seized in Italy as part of sanctions

The vessel, the biggest sailing yacht in the world, is owned by billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, who made a fortune in fertiliser production and coal.

News reporter

Sunday 13 March 2022 01:14, UK

A Russian-owned superyacht valued at £443m has been confiscated by Italian police in the port of Trieste as part of a global crackdown on wealthy oligarchs.

The Sy A yacht is owned by billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, 50, who made a fortune in fertiliser production and coal.

The vessel was seized on Friday evening.

Designed by Philippe Starck and built by Nobiskrug in Germany, the vessel is the world's biggest sailing yacht at 143m in length.

Read more: Russia says Western arms shipments now 'legitimate military targets' - follow latest updates on Ukraine war

Footage shows police cars approaching the triple-masted yacht and officers boarding it.

Italian authorities last week seized £120m in luxury yachts and villas belonging to Russian billionaires in picturesque retreats such as Sardinia, the Ligurian coast and Lake Como as part of sanctions against oligarchs linked to Vladimir Putin.

A statement from the Official Journal of the European Union described Melnichenko as belonging to the "most influential circle of Russian businesspeople with close connections to the Russian Government".

It added: "On 24 February 2022, in the aftermath of the initial stages of Russian aggression against Ukraine, Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, along with other 36 businesspeople, met with President Vladimir Putin and other members of the Russian government to discuss the impact of the course of action in the wake of Western sanctions.

"The fact that he was invited to attend this meeting shows that he is a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin and that he is supporting or implementing actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as stability and security in Ukraine."

A spokesperson for Melnichenko said the businessman had "no relation to the tragic events in Ukraine and has no political affiliations".

"There is no justification whatsoever for placing him on the EU sanctions list.

"We will be disputing these baseless and unjustified sanctions, and believe that the rule of law and common sense will prevail."

A number of oligarchs have sought to move their superyachts to safe locations to avoid confiscation.

Roman Abramovich's superyacht Solaris has been spotted in the small Adriatic Sea state of Montenegro.

The 533ft Solaris was seen on Saturday outside the Porto Montenegro marina in the coastal town of Tivat after arriving from Barcelona.

There was no immediate comment from the Montenegrin authorities on the arrival of the £460m vessel.

The NATO country has joined Western sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

It comes after Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government .

The Chelsea Football Club owner is one of seven more Russian oligarchs who have had sanctions placed on them by ministers in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A government document announcing the move said that Abramovich has had a "close relationship for decades" with Putin.

The UK is the first nation to sanction Abramovich, who has been described by the government as a "pro-Kremlin oligarch".

The government has now sanctioned more than 200 individuals and entities.

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Italian Police Seize Russian Oligarch Andrey Melnichenko’s 468-Foot ‘Sailing Yacht A’

The list keeps growing with the impoundment of "sailing yacht a" and suspicion that "scheherazade" might be connected to vladimir putin., michael verdon, michael verdon's most recent stories.

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Italy’s finance police seized one of the world’s most iconic sailing yachts, owned by a Russian oligarch. Andrey Melnichenko’s Sailing Yacht A , with an estimated value of $578 million, was impounded in dry dock at the Port of Trieste, according to a statement from the Guardia di Finanzia. Melninchenko was sanctioned by the European Union on March 9 as part of a group of Russian oligarchs who met with Russian President Vladimir Putin following its Ukraine invasion to discuss the potential economic impact of EU and American sanctions.

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Melnichenko owns the major fertilizer producer EuroChem Group and SUEK, a coal company. He also owns the 390-foot Motor Yacht A. A spokesperson said in a statement that Melnichenko has nothing to do with politics and that he has removed himself from the board of Eurochem and SUEK after the EU sanctioned him. “He has no relation to the tragic events in Ukraine. He has no political affiliations,” said the statement.

US intelligence officials have also said they are trying to link the Scheherazade , a $700 million superyacht in dry dock in Italy, to Putin. The New York Times reported that the US government has made no definite conclusions about the yacht’s ownership, but believe it could be owned by the Russian president. The yacht’s captain, Guy Bennett-Pearce, told the Times that Putin had no stake in the yacht, but declined to name the owner. Bennett-Pearce said he would provide Italian police with documents that divulged the owner’s name. The Italian Sea Group, which owns the shipyard where Scheherazade is dry docked, said that, based on “checks carried out by relevant authorities,” the yacht is “not attributable to the property of Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

Roman Abramovich, who owns Solaris. last week was placed on the UK sanctions list.  Courtesy of Lloyd Werft

Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich was also added to the UK sanctions list days after he announced the sale of the football club. Abramovich, who owns a string of supercars and several private jets, also owns the superyachts Solaris and Eclipse. Solaris is reportedly sailing towards Israel, where Abramovich has dual citizenship.

On March 3, France’s finance ministry said that it had impounded Amore Vero , a yacht owned by Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian oil giant Rosneft. The EU had sanctioned Sechin earlier that week, calling him one of Putin’s “most trusted and closest advisors, as well as his personal friend.” German authorities also detained the 512-foot superyacht Dilbar in Hamburg, owned by Alisher Usmanov. Reports said the crew was fired last week. On March 5, Italian authorities impounded two yachts, Lena and Lady M , owned by Gennady Timchenko and Alexei Mordashov, respectively.

On Friday, the US State Department placed Viktor Vekselberg on its sanctions list. Two of Vekeselberg’s luxury assets, an Airbus A319-115 jet and his yacht Tango , were identified as “blocked property.”

The superyacht Scheherazade was impounded in Italy during an investigation to uncover whether it is owned by Russian President Vladimir Putin.  Video Still/YT

The seizures have prompted the superyacht industry to distance itself from the oligarchs. Italian yacht builders Sanlorenzo and Azimut both released statements that they have limited exposure to Russian clients, and none are on the sanctions list. Heesen Yachts released a statement that two Russians sitting on its supervisory board of directors have resigned their positions. The builder said Heesen is 100-percent Dutch-owned company and that Pavel Sukhoruchkin and Pavel Novoselov had nothing to do with its day-to-day operations.

Ownership of many Russian yachts is often hidden by shell companies in tax havens like the Cayman Islands. They are not only hard to trace, but actually seizing and selling them could present a legal quagmire that could take years to resolve.

Some are wondering whether seizing the oligarchs’ private yachts and jets will work. “Sanctions are another example of the West doing what it does best, which is just throwing a lot of cash at the problem and hoping it gets solved,” Olga Chyzh, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto, told the Washington Post. “However sad they are to let go of their Western assets, oligarchs have even more to lose if Putin is no longer there to protect them.”

Eclipse is another yacht owned by Roman Abramovich.  Robb Report File

In the meantime, some oligarchs are taking their yachts to destinations like the Maldives , the Seychelles and Dubai, which have no extradition treaties with the US and EU. Dubai has become a favorite destination for Russian tourism and wealth.

Alex Finley, a former CIA officer, has been tracking the yachts from Barcelona. Using the hashtag “Yacht Watch,” she posts updates on Twitter for Russian-owned superyachts.

“For me, the yachts are a big, easily recognizable symbol of the more serious side of this [Russian invasion]: These are people who support a dictator, and have been supporting him in carrying out destabilization operations against democracy, while at the same time coming here and taking all the benefits of the exact same democracies they were destabilizing,” Finley told the Washington Post.

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Italian police seize Russian billionaire’s £443million superyacht

Italian police have seized a superyacht owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, the Prime Minister’s office announced.

It comes days after the businessman was placed on an EU sanctions list following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine .

The 143-metre (470-foot) Sailing Yacht A, which has a price tag of 530 million euros (£443 million), has been sequestered at the northern port of Trieste, the government said.

The vessel, designed by Philippe Starck and built by Nobiskrug in Germany, is the world’s biggest sailing yacht.

Oligarch Melnichenko owned major fertiliser producer EuroChem Group and coal company SUEK.

The companies said in statements on Thursday that he had resigned as a member of the board in both companies and withdrawn as their beneficiary, effective Wednesday.

Videos on social media show police in cars with flashing lights approaching the triple-mast yacht as officers begin boarding.

A spokesperson for Melnichenko, Alex Andreev, said the businessman had "no relation to the tragic events in Ukraine. He has no political affiliations".

"There is no justification whatsoever for placing him on the EU sanctions list," his spokesperson told Reuters. "We will be disputing these baseless and unjustified sanctions, and believe that the rule of law and common sense will prevail.”

Last week, Italian police seized villas and yachts worth 143 million euros (£119 million) from five high-profile Russians who have been placed on the sanctions list.

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The luxury properties were sequestered in some of Italy’s most prestigious retail estate locations - the island of Sardinia, by Lake Como and in Tuscany - while two superyachts were grabbed at their moorings in northern ports.

Billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov had a villa worth 17 million euros seized on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.

Oleg Savchenko, a member of the Russian parliament, had his 17th century house near the Tuscan city of Lucca, worth some 3 million euros, taken from him.

Uzbekistan-born metals and telecoms tycoon Usmanov is well known in Italy for owning multiple properties on Sardinia.

Italian media said Mordashov owned a villa worth some 66 million euros ($72 million) on the same island.

Taking into account the assets of his whole family, Forbes magazine estimates that Mordashov had an estimated net worth of $29.1 billion before sanctions hit.

Mirko Idili, a coordinator of the CISL union in Sardinia, has warned the sanctions and a reduced presence of rich Russians this summer could negatively affect the island’s economy and put more than 1,000 jobs at risk.

The police operations were part of a coordinated drive by Western states to penalise wealthy Russians linked to President Vladimir Putin.

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Here are the superyachts seized from Russian oligarchs

As part of an international pressure campaign on Russia, authorities from around the world have seized more than a half-dozen superyachts belonging to billionaire oligarchs allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The yacht seizures since the Feb. 24 invasion are "just the beginning," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in March, as an international task force worked to identify further assets that can be seized or frozen.

“The Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to hold accountable those who facilitate the death and destruction we are witnessing in Ukraine,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said of the ongoing efforts in May.

Here are the superyachts government officials have seized since Russia invaded Ukraine last month.

The Justice Department announced May 5 that the Fijian government had seized billionaire oligarch Suleiman Kerimov 's 348-foot yacht Amadea. The vessel, which is valued at more than $300 million , arrived in Fiji last month. Kerimov, who's worth an estimated $14 billion and has ties to the Russian government, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department over alleged money laundering in 2018.

Special features on the sprawling yacht include a helipad, infinity pool, a jacuzzi and multiple bars, according to a report in Boat International . It can accommodate 16 overnight guests in addition to 36 crew members, the report said.

In April, Spanish law-enforcement officials seized a 255-foot yacht called the Tango, which Justice Department says is owned by oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Vekselberg is an aluminum magnate who the Treasury Department says has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Tango is worth an estimated $90 million, prosecutors said , and Vekselberg allegedly purchased it through shell companies. The 11-year-old yacht has seven staterooms and reportedly includes amenities such as a pool, gym and beauty salon .

Authorities in Italy seized a 215-foot superyacht called the Lady M this month. It's owned by Alexei Mordashov, Russia's richest businessman, and it’s estimated to be worth $27 million . The vessel, which requires a crew of 14, has six guest cabins , a pool and a gym.

But it pales in comparison to another of Mordashov's yachts, the $500 million Nord . The 464-foot vessel, which has two helipads and a waterfall and can accommodate 36 guests, was anchored this month in the Seychelles, where the U.S. and European Union sanctions don’t apply.

Italian officials also seized the 132-foot superyacht Lena, owned by the energy magnate Gennady Timchenko. Estimated to be worth $8 million, it has five cabins and can accommodate 10 guests.

SY A — short for Sailing Yacht A — is one of the world's largest superyachts. Valued at over $440 million, the 469-foot vessel, owned by the fertilizer magnate Andrey Melnichenko, has eight decks, multiple elevators, an underwater observation area and the world's tallest masts . It was seized in the Italian port of Trieste.

Authorities in Spain seized Sergei Chemezov's Valerie, a 279-foot superyacht that had been moored in Barcelona. Chemezov , a former KGB officer, heads the state conglomerate Rostec. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez touted the seizure on La Sexta television. “We are talking about a yacht that we estimate is worth $140 million,” Sanchez said.

Officials in France announced this month that they had seized the 289-foot Amore Vero, which was undergoing repairs in a shipyard near Marseille. When they arrived, authorities said, they found the crew preparing for an urgent departure, even though the repair work was scheduled to last through April. The $120 million boat, which has seven cabins , is linked to Igor Sechin, described by the U.S. Treasury Department as a close ally of Putin's.

Dareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.

Russian oligarch's $300 million superyacht hides in plain sight in UAE's neutral waters, avoiding sanctions

• The 390ft superyacht has been anchored in the United Arab Emirates for weeks.
• The vessel belongs to Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko, worth an estimated $23 billion.
• Italian authorities seized his $600 million superyacht in March amid western sanctions.

A superyacht belonging to a sanctioned Russian oligarch has been spotted in the port of Ras al-Khaimah, in the United Arab Emirates, according to AP journalists who saw the vessel on Tuesday. 

Andrey Melnichenko's 390ft Philippe Starck-designed Motor Yacht A, worth $300 million, was last reported in Dubai, according to vessel-tracking website MarineTraffic .

Melnichenko's other yacht, worth $600 million, was seized by Italian authorities in early March as part of western sanctions imposed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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Remaining in the UAE port puts the yacht beyond the reach of western sanctions.

UAE has publicly expressed neutrality about the war in Ukraine. Insider previously reported that sanctioned oligarchs can obtain golden visas by investing at least 10 million dirhams ($2.7 million) in a local company or investment fund.

The Australian broadcaster ABC News and the Financial Times first reported the story.

According to MarineTraffic, the superyacht used to sail under the UK flag.

However, in March, the government of the Isle of Man, a British crown dependency in the Irish Sea, said it had deregistered Melnichenko's yachts including Motor Yacht A because of western sanctions. It added: "We will continue to act with appropriate robustness should the situation warrant it."

European officials told the FT that they don't want "our allies to become facilitators for the Putin regime," and raised concerns with Emirati counterparts that sanctioned individuals could treat the UAE as a financial haven. 

Melnichenko, worth $23.5 billion according to Forbes , founded one of Russia's most successful lenders, MDM Bank. He also ​​founded the fertilizer producer Eurochem and coal energy company SUEK.

Russian oligarchs have also turned to alternative routes regarding financial transactions, such as hawala , an informal money exchange .

A Russian businessman told the FT: "Big banks are more cautious but smaller banks are offering help to those wishing to relocate. It's just taking a lot of time."

• Main content

World's Largest Sailing Yacht Meets Its Baby Brother In Monaco

Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko owns both of the Philippe Starck-designed megayachts, which sailed together for the first time.

Size matters.

At 468 feet long, the Philippe Starck-designed sailboat dwarfs the smaller yacht, which Melnichenko also built and reportedly put up for sale last year .

The Russian, who has an estimated net worth of $12.9 billion and founded companies including a fertilizer producer, a coal producer, a power generator, and a pipe exporter, spent a reported $400 million on the sailing vessel.

Its masts reach 300 feet into the sky (the main one is so large it has a small room inside it) and the yacht can reach a maximum speed of 24 miles per hour. A crew of 54 attends to the 20 guests it can hold.

Melnichenko allegedly chose the name "A" to make sure that his vessels were listed first in shipping registers.

Sam Dangremond is a Contributing Digital Editor at Town & Country, where he covers men's style, cocktails, travel, and the social scene.

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