The world’s largest mega-yacht belonging to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov was seized by German authorities on Wednesday, according to a Forbes report.
The publication cited multiple unnamed sources in reporting that the 512-foot and $600 million valued yacht, which has been docked in Hamburg, Germany, for a refitting, was seized since Russia’s invasion on Ukraine began on Feb. 24.
The seizure of Usmanov’s yacht comes amid sanctions implemented from many countries, including the U.S. and the European Union against Russian banks, Russian oligarchs as well as their companies and assets, and even Russian President Vladimir Putin, as the West steps up pressure over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
On March 1st, Usmanov, a metals tycoon who was an early investor in Facebook, suspended his duties as President of the International Fencing Federation, one of his companies he has led since 2008, saying that “the reasons employed to justify the sanctions are a set of false and defamatory allegations damaging my honor, dignity, and business reputation”.
“I hereby suspend the exercise of my duties as the President of the International Fencing Federation effective immediately until justice is restored,” he added.
Usmanov, whose fortune is estimated at more than $14 billion, has historically been a supporter of Putin, though he has not commented on the current invasion on Ukraine.
The seizure of Usmanov’s yacht comes as the latest sign of the increasing international isolation of Russia’s business elite.
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