What will happen to the yachts and villas that the oligarchs will take over? Seizing them is basically the easiest step | TVNOVINY.sk – TVNOVINY.sk

Russia is the most sanctioned country in the world. Since the invasion of Ukraine, the international community has imposed more than 6,000 sanctions on the country, including particular ones, affecting Russian oligarchs and Vladimir Putin’s supporters. In addition to restricting travel, the measures also affected their assets. European countries, America and the United Kingdom have begun to seize yachts, villas and private planes. But what happens to the property thus acquired? Seized property Only resounding names, which have a significant position in Russia, have appeared on the sanctions list. Their assets are estimated at hundreds of millions to several billion euros. That is why it is obvious that they have bank accounts and own various assets around the world, not only in Russia. And this is exactly the disadvantage for them this time. Sanctions are relentless. Therefore, since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they have begun to rewrite their yachts and villas to family members. However, not everyone made it. The Dutch customs authorities confiscated 14 yachts in several shipyards on the basis of sanctions imposed on Russia, the vast majority of which were under construction. This was announced by the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra. “Due to the current measures, vessels cannot be delivered (by the owner), transferred or exported,” Hoekstra said. According to TASR, these luxury ships cannot leave the country due to sanctions imposed on Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the oligarch. Other countries have followed the same approach. The French government announced on Thursday that it had frozen 33 properties on the French Riviera, Paris and other parts of the country that belonged to the sanctioned oligarch. The list was published by the French Ministry of Finance, informs ČT24. They also seized Igor Sechin’s 280-meter yacht called “Amore Vero”, which was moored in the port of La Ciotat near Marseille. Sechina also lost another vessel moored in Spanish waters. The estimated cost of the “Crescent” superyacht is 458 million pounds. The head of Russian oil giant Rosneft probably did not pay a close alliance with President Putin. Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov’s luxury super yacht was seized by police in the Pacific Ocean this week. The DPA reported with reference to local media. The Amadeo superyacht is 106 meters long and worth about $ 325 million. You can read more here. Other millionaires also lost their super yachts. A $ 75 million superyacht owned by the sanctioned Russian oligarch Dmitry Pumpyansky, chairman of the board and owner of the OAO TMK steel pipe company, was detained in Gibraltar. Entrepreneur Alisher Usmanov was also furious. One ship was seized from Sardinia and another, the “Dilbar”, which reportedly cost more than $ 600 million, was to be detained by German authorities. A spokeswoman for the Hamburg Ministry of Economy refuted this information in March. According to her, the ownership of the yacht has not been proven. However, news of the detention of one of the most expensive yachts in the world reappeared on Thursday. According to published data, the super-yacht was owned by Gulbahor Ismail, the sister of the sanctioned oligarch, according to Forbes. In #Germany, the huge superyacht #Dilbar, which belongs to Gulbahor Ismailova, the sister of the sanctioned oligarch Alisher Usmanov, was seized.The Dilbar yacht considered as one of the most expensive yachts in the world. The cost of the yacht is estimated at $ 600 million. pic.twitter.com/N7vxTrs7xs – NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 14, 2022 However, many yachts managed to escape from the sanctions and anchor in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. According to the Fortune portal, more than a dozen are on their way to distant ports in small countries, such as Montenegro, the Maldives and Dubai, where sanctions do not apply to them. The super-yacht “Graceful”, which is to be owned by Putin himself, also underwent the same transfer. Flying for Russian aircraft is also banned in the United Kingdom. That’s why, according to Politico, they detained a plane connected with Russian billionaire Eugene Shvidler in early March. The machine is registered with Global Jet Luxembourg, a company based in Luxembourg. Shvidler is a close friend of billionaire Roman Abramovich. The value of its assets is estimated at $ 1.7 billion. At the request of the State Investigation Office in Ukraine, oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk and his wife confiscated more than 150 items of property. Among them are, for example, 30 plots of land, 32 apartments, 23 houses, 17 parking lots, a yacht and 26 luxury cars. At the request of the State Bureau of Investigation in #Ukraine, 154 items of property of oligarch Viktor #Medvedchuk and his wife have been seized. Among it are thirty land plots, 32 apartments, 23 houses, 17 parking lots, a yacht and a fleet of 26 luxury cars. pic.twitter.com/4iH21Ut3ti – NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 14, 2022 Italy raids Italy, the paradise of Russian millionaires, has been the strictest sanction to date. Only former Russian Formula One racer Nikit Mazepin and his father (Russian oligarch) confiscated real estate worth 105 million euros. Another five important Russians were confiscated from luxury real estate on the island of Sardinia, Tuscany or Lake Como. They also provided them with super-yachts moored in the northern ports. The police thus have a 65-meter yacht “Lady M” worth 65 million euros, owned by Russia’s richest man, Alexei Mordashov. The second luxury vessel is the 132-meter “Lena” worth 50 million euros. It was owned by Gennady Timchenko, who became rich in the oil trade, and Putin called him one of his closest associates. Billionaire businessman Alisher Usman confiscated a € 17 million villa on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, while Oleg Savchenko, a member of the Russian parliament, seized a 17th-century house near the Tuscan town of Lucca worth about € 3 million. An undisclosed real estate worth 8 million euros was confiscated in Como by Russian state television moderator Vladimir Soloviev, Reuters reports. “Suddenly someone will make a decision that this journalist is now on the sanctions list and it will immediately affect your property. Wait. You have told us that Europe has sacred property rights, “he quoted the angry Daily Beast moderator. Italian banks also froze their assets. What will happen to the property after the seizure The seizure, seizure or freezing of the assets of the Russian oligarchs is basically the easiest part that the authorities have to deal with. According to CNBC, sanctions experts say that deciding what to do with such assets and who will receive a return is likely to be more difficult. Enforcing severe sanctions against Russia poses a legal challenge for countries, even after confiscation. If property is confiscated, sanctions allow countries to take full ownership of Russian oligarchs’ planes, houses or ships. However, until the assets are only frozen, technically they still belong to the oligarch. Freezing simply means that the owner cannot sell, rent or transfer the property to another person, Fortune said. He also can’t sail with him, especially with regard to the detained yachts. It basically falls under a certain legal limbo. Enforcing sanctions could lead to out-of-court “battles”, which, however, do not have an immediate result, but can take years. Each country has its own laws and the latest round of sanctions poses unprecedented and unanswered legal issues, said Benjamin Maltby, an expert on yacht law and luxury assets at Keystone Law. Prosecutors are also demanding evidence that the property was directly involved in a crime that can be difficult to detect as many Russian oligarchs work undercover and take steps to clear their tracks. That is why oligarchs are challenging targets. They are very familiar with the gaps that exist in the law, such as offshore accounts in countries without sanctions, thanks to which they have their property protected. The authorities also face the challenge of high costs associated with the acquired property. Although the oligarchs are technically responsible for maintaining their assets, even if the assets have been frozen and they cannot use them. However, they may refuse to pay, making their yachts and planes unusable and reaching a state of emergency. What happens after the deprivation of property can be quite expensive and difficult to enforce from the owners, according to the portal. If the state still manages to take ownership of the property and decides to sell it, the proceeds usually go to law enforcement.