Superyacht Linked to Russian Billionaire Mysteriously Turns Up in Hong Kong | Abroad

The Nord, a nearly 140-foot yacht that is said to be one of the largest in the world, was spotted by CNN on Friday in Hong Kong’s waters, just minutes from the city center. The ship is estimated to be worth at least $500 million and is widely regarded as the property of Alexey Mordashov, one of Russia’s richest industrial billionaires, according to a yacht broker who spoke to CNN. Mordashov has a net worth of $18.7 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He is also the chairman of Severstal, a Russian steel and mining giant that at last count had 54,000 employees in 69 countries.

According to the Chinese city’s Marine Department, the yacht, which is one and a half times the size of an American football field, arrived in Hong Kong on Wednesday from the Russian port of Vladivostok. The government agency told CNN on Friday that it had not yet been notified when the yacht would depart for its next destination.

Since Friday afternoon, the Russian flag has been flying on the Nord, with the name of its home base, “Vladivostok”, on the stern. A few people, believed to be crew members in uniform, were seen on the deck of the ship.

The US State Department imposed sanctions on Mordashov and Severstal in June, along with the billionaire’s three other companies, his wife and two adult children. In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time that the Treasury Department was taking further action to “destroy the networks that allow Russian elites, including President Putin, to anonymously exploit luxury assets around the world.” to break.”

Mordashov has challenged the sanctions against him in European courts. In May, he argued that an EU court should overturn the decision to add him to a list of those sentenced for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “I have absolutely nothing to do with the emergence of the current geopolitical tension and I do not understand why the EU has imposed sanctions on me,” he said this spring, at the start of the war, according to TASS, Russia’s state news agency.

The United States is not the only country to act tough. Several superyachts owned by Russian businessmen have been seized this year in high-profile cases around the world, including in Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Hong Kong can be a haven. Hong Kong’s Marine Department told CNN on Friday that it “is not commenting on individual cases of ship entry.” The city requires owners of overseas yachts to obtain permission from authorities to enter, including showing proof of insurance, the Marine Department said. “We note that certain countries can impose unilateral sanctions against certain places based on their own considerations,” the ministry said.

But the government “does not implement unilateral sanctions imposed by other jurisdictions, nor do we have the legal authority to take action on them,” the department added, saying only that it would “apply sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council.” imposed”.

Russia and China – of which Hong Kong is a part – are two of the five members of the Security Council with veto power. Russia has consistently vetoed council resolutions in recent months, hindering action against Ukraine.

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