A Russian businessman’s yacht worth US$75 million (about R$390 million at current price) will be put up for auction in Europe. According to the US newspaper Business Insider, the boat is owned by Dmitry Pumpyansky, who was subject to Western sanctions because of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The seizure of the yacht, called Axiom, is an order of the Gibraltar Supreme Court. The value of his sale will be divided among the creditors of the oligarch.
In many cases, authorities cannot sell a seized yacht without first going through the legal portion, which imposes on them operating and maintenance costs and a cargo of 10 to 15% of the ship’s annual value.
Although owned by Pumpyansky, the yacht is managed by the management company Pyrene Investments. The complaint regarding the execution of the seizure was filed by US bank JPMorgan, which lent US$22 million (R$114.5 million) to a company in which Pumpyansky is a shareholder in the British Virgin Islands in December 2021. Cypriot company.
The bank considered Russia’s inclusion in bank sanctions a breach of agreement, as there was a possibility that it would not return the money due to its earnings freeze. With this, the yacht is considered a guarantee.
Western authorities targeted assets belonging to Russian oligarchs, such as property, private jets, art and ultimately yachts. Turkey is a favorite destination for these targeted goods as they are judicially safe.
An example of those who made this escape was Roman Abramovich, the former owner of Chelsea, who “hid” his two yachts worth R$8.5 billion in Turkish waters to avoid the capture of both in possible British government penalties.
Pumpyansky, together with Sergei Popov and Andrei Melnichenko, bought the pipeline holding TMK in 2006. TMK has been supplying Russian state-owned Gazprom gas since 1998.
source: Noticias
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