The German authorities in the northern city of Hamburg has seized a $600 million 512-foot yacht Dilbar, belonging to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
The yacht which was purchase in 2016 from German shipbuilder Lurssen, has been in he Hamburg shipyards of German shipbuilding firm Blohm+Voss since October 2021 for a refitting job. According to Forbes, the German government froze the asset and that, likely as a result, Blohm+Voss employees who had been working on the yacht didn’t show up to work on Wednesday.
The yacht is the world’s largest motor yacht by gross tonnage, coming in at 15,917 tons. It took over 52 months for the Dilbar to be custom built for Usmanov.
Alisher Usmanov who sold his 30% stake in English soccer team Arsenal F.C. in 2018 for nearly $700 million in cash is one of the 14 Russian billionaires sanctioned by the European Union. He was put on the sanctions list on Monday, 28 February.
Forbes reports that the now seized yacht is part of Usmanov’s estimated multibillion dollar fortune, which spans stakes in iron ore and steel giant Metalloinvest and consumer electronics firm Xiaomi, as well as smaller holdings in telecom, mining and media.
Also read; Oil surges past $110 as the U.S bans Russian flights from its airspace
One of the earliest investors in Facebook along with fellow billionaire Yuri Milner, Usmanov also owns extensive real estate assets in the West, ranging from two estates in the UK—Beechwood House in London and Sutton Place in Surrey, valued at a combined $280 million—to luxury homes in Munich, Germany; Lausanne, Switzerland; Monaco; and Sardinia.
Everton F.C said on Wednesday that it was suspending sponsorship arrangements with USM Holdings and MegaFon, both belonging to Usmanov in the light of the Russian attack on Ukraine.
Commenting on the EU sanctions imposed on him in a statement on Tuesday, Usmanov said;
“I believe that such decision is unfair, and the reasons employed to justify the sanctions are a set of false and defamatory allegations damaging my honor, dignity, and business reputation,” he wrote. “I will use all legal means to protect my honor and reputation.”
German authorities did not immediately respond to inquiries by media organisations like Reuters. Forbes reported that representatives for Usmanov did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ukraine’s advisor to the minister of internal affairs, Anton Geraschenko, responded to the report on Telegram by saying the yacht should be sent to Ukraine and refitted as a missile cruiser.
The Guardian reports that at least five other superyachts owned by Russian billionaires are now anchored or cruising in Maldives, an Indian Ocean island nation that does not have an extradition treaty with the US, ship tracking data showed.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
