A €76.5 million superyacht owned by a Russian oligarch, which has been seized due to sanctions, will be auctioned by the government of Gibraltar on Tuesday. It is the first yacht to be sold since the sanctions against hundreds of wealthy Russians after the invasion of Ukraine.
However, the 72.5 meter long Axiom is not being sold for the benefit of the Ukrainian people, but for the benefit of an American investment bank, JP Morgan. That bank claims that the wealthy owner of the yacht, billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky, owes them more than 20 million euros.
The ship, which features six luxurious rooms, a swimming pool, 3D cinema room, gym, jacuzzi and full-service spa, was detained after docking in Gibraltar in March.
Pumpyansky, the owner of a steel pipe producer that supplies Russian state energy company Gazprom, was subjected to sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine by the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States. The UK said the billionaire, who is estimated to have accumulated a fortune of 2.17 billion euros, was one of the oligarchs “closest to Putin”.
While dozens of superyachts from oligarchs around the world have already been seized, Axiom is the only yacht for sale. The United Kingdom and other governments have proposed confiscating the sanctioned oligarch’s assets and using them to help Ukrainian refugees, but this will not happen.
Terms Violated
The bank claiming the money, JP Morgan, said the fact that the billionaire was subject to sanctions meant that the terms of the loan had been violated. JP Morgan asked the Gibraltar court to detain and sell the yacht.
The bank did not respond to press inquiries as to whether it would donate some of the money from the sale to Ukrainian refugees, but a spokesman said: “JP Morgan has increased a philanthropic pledge from $5 million to $10 million to help alleviate the worsening crisis. help support the refugee crisis in Ukraine.”
Nigel Hollyer, the real estate agent of the High Court of Gibraltar, leads the auction. He said there had been an “unexpected late wave of potential buyers” and more than 30 had flown into the area to personally inspect the yacht. “They are people from all over the world,” Hollyer told the British newspaper The Guardian. “They are people who own or have owned boats of a similar size and are attracted to this boat because of the legal sale process. They are convinced that they are going to get a bargain.”
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss out on any of the stars.