Superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs and billionaires closely associated with Vladamir Putin are headed towards Montenegro and the Maldives to avoid being seized following US and European sanctions.
US President Joe Biden recently issued sanctions targeted at the property of Russian executives, including yachts and mansions, while France is constructing a list of properties owned by oligarchs that could be seized under European Union sanctions.
“This coming week, we will launch a multilateral transatlantic task force to identify, hunt down, and freeze the assets of sanctioned Russian companies and oligarchs – their yachts, their mansions, and any other ill-gotten gains that we can find and freeze under the law,” a White House tweet said.
At least four huge Russian yachts are on the move out of European and American waters, according to data reviewed by CNBC from Marine Traffic.
Vagit Alekperov, who is president of Lukoil and worth almost US$25bn according to Forbes, was sailing his yacht to Montenegro on Tuesday, Marine Traffic said.
At least another three yachts owned by Russian billionaires are getting closer to the Maldives, which has been popular for Russian tourists in recent years.