British authorities have seized a Russian billionaire’s luxurious super-yacht which docked at Gibraltar on Monday as part of the punitive sanctions imposed due to the Ukraine conflict.
The "Axioma" is owned by Dmitrievich Pumpyansky who runs Russian steel giant TMK.
According to Refinitiv data, the 72-metre vessel is owned by a British Virgin Islands holding company called Pyrene investments. A report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists which forms part of the Panama Papers leaks has identified Pumpyansky as a beneficiary of the holding.
According to a Reuters report, The Gibraltar government confirmed in a statement that the Axioma was “the subject of an arrest action by a leading international bank in the Supreme Court of Gibraltar".
"The vessel is now subject to arrest by the Admiralty Marshal until further orders," it said.
There are around 56 such superyachts, those longer than 79 feet, valued at more than $5.4 billion that are owned by Russian oligarch’s that are on the radar of western countries and can be seized under the new sanctions. Some of these opulent vessels have been detained in France, Germany and Spain.
However, many of them have been sailing to ports in Maldives and Montenegro, to prevent being confiscated under Western sanctions as these countries do not have any extradition treaties.
