Authorities have seized a yacht linked to the owner of Russia’s largest steel tube maker after docking in Gibraltar.
According to Reuters, Dmitrievich Bombiansky, owner of the TMK steel group, is under British and European sanctions as the West has imposed sanctions on the Russian oligarch for Moscow’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine.
The boat in question is known as the “Axiom” and is a 72-meter-long vessel owned by Bayerin Investments. The news service said that while that company is a BVI holding company, Bombiansky is named in the Panama Papers as a beneficiary of the holding.
Authorities in Gibraltar said the ship was “confirmed that it was subjected to an arrest by a prominent international bank in the High Court of Gibraltar,” Reuters reported.
“The ship is now under arrest by Admiralty Marshall until further orders,” the government statement said. Reuters added that the ship left Antigua on February 27 and sailed for three weeks before reaching Gibraltar, according to shipping data on Refinitiv.
Sanctions against certain Russian persons and entities have prompted many luxury yachts to leave Europe and head towards the Maldives, which does not have an extradition agreement with the United States.
In addition to punishing Russian companies and oligarchs, the United States halted imports of Russian oil and sent military aid packages amid Moscow’s deadly invasion.
Since the attacks began on February 24, some 10 million Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes either within the country or as refugees abroad.