For the first time on Tuesday, a yacht belonging to a Russian oligarch under sanctions because of the war in Ukraine will be auctioned off in Gibraltar. The luxury boat belongs to the wealthy leader of a steel giant, TMK, supplier of Gazprom. But the money from the sale should not go to humanitarian aid for Ukrainians, contrary to what several European governments, including the United Kingdom, had suggested.
Six luxurious bedrooms, a swimming pool, a spa, a gym or even a cinema… This is what the gigantic yacht of Russian oligarch Dmitry Pumpyansky. A boat estimated at 75 million dollars, held through a front company domiciled in the British Virgin Islands.
Axioma, that’s the name of this ship, has been stuck in Gibraltar since March. But it is not the United Kingdom on which Gibraltar depends, which is at the origin of the seizure, it is the bank JP Morgan.
The oligarch close to Vladimir Putin owed nearly 20 million dollars to the American bank. However, because of Western sanctions against him, JP Morgan no longer has the right to collect this money. To recover the funds while respecting the sanctions, she therefore asked Gibraltar to seize this seventy-two meter long yacht.
The bank did not say whether it would donate some of that money to help Ukrainian refugees.
A dozen other yachts, but also villas belonging to Russian oligarchs have been seized since the start of the war in Ukraine, but none have been auctioned off yet.