Bloomberg: Megayachts run low on safe harbors as Russia sanctions bite

When the $325 million Amadea superyacht that’s been linked to Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov sailed into Fiji in April, the captain may have figured he had found a safe haven.

The laid-back South Pacific island nation hadn’t joined in a global push to impose sanctions on Russia and many of President Vladimir Putin’s wealthy supporters, and had just a few weeks before abstained from a United Nations resolution supporting Ukraine’s territorial integrity, Bloomberg reports.

Yet a week after the Amadea arrived, Fiji authorities detained the luxurious yacht at the request of the US government, which argued that Kerimov -- who has been sanctioned for his ties to Putin -- was the true owner of the ship. The US eventually won a series of legal challenges and seized the vessel, sailing it to Honolulu last week.

The costly episode shows how Russian tycoons are running out of places to park their floating palaces, four months after their country’s invasion of Ukraine. The US and Europe are going after their superyachts, villas and other assets because of their ties to Putin. Already, more than a dozen boats worth more than $2.25 billion have been seized by the US, EU nations and willing allies -- such as Fiji.

The US has formed a task force dubbed KleptoCapture to pursue the assets of Russian oligarchs. The unit, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Marshals Service, and the Coast Guard, sent agents to Fiji to pursue the Amadea. In Europe, Germany, Italy, Spain and other governments have seized ultra-luxurious vessels, with the biggest prize so far Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s Dilbar, which is valued at as much as $750 million.

After the Amadea was first seized, US Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco issued a warning to Russian tycoons, saying the Justice Department “had its eyes on every yacht purchased with dirty money.”

“This seizure should tell every corrupt Russian oligarch that they cannot hide -- not even in the remotest part of the world,” she said.

Fearful of having their yachts seized, owners have sent them to a small number of locales still considered friendly -- allowing the vessels to dock or hang around unbothered -- including Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and the Maldives, according to Spire Global Inc., a data and analytics firm that uses satellite technology to track maritime activity.