Germany has captured the world’s largest superyacht after “thorough investigations” found it to be owned by the sister of sanctioned Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.
German federal police said on Thursday they had confiscated $ 600 million (£ 458 million) in Dilbar after weeks of hard financial investigations revealed the yacht’s real property despite a complex network of “offshore hiding”.
The ship is flying the flag of the Cayman Islands and is registered with a holding company in Malta – both tax havens are preferred by the global super-rich to park their wealth.
German authorities say they have established that the yacht was ultimately owned by Usmanov’s sister Gulbahor Ismailova.
Usmanov, a telecommunications mogul who owns the 48 million-pound Beechwood House mansion in Highgate, London and the 16th-century Sutton Place mansion in Surrey, was sanctioned by the United Kingdom last month. The billionaire, who has significant interests in the English football clubs Arsenal and Everton, has already been sanctioned by the EU and the United States.
Ismailova and another of Usmanov’s sisters, Saodat Narzieva, have also been sanctioned by the United Kingdom and the EU. The UK government said Usmanov “indirectly transferred assets to Ismailova, including leaving his sister as the sole real owner of the Dilbar yacht”.
The EU said it had transferred significant assets to its sister, Soadat Narzieva, including a one-off payment or a $ 3m gift. He also had 27 Swiss bank accounts with hundreds of millions of dollars that could be linked to her brother.
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With 15,917 tons, the Dilbar is the world’s largest motor yacht in gross tonnage and usually has a crew of 96, with room for 24 passengers in 12 apartments. Designed by British superyacht expert Andrew Winch, it boasts a 25-meter (82-foot) indoor swimming pool (the world’s largest private boat), a sauna and massage room, a cinema and two helicopter pads.
The 156-meter ship, which is undergoing extensive repairs in Hamburg, Germany, was inspected by police last month. However, German authorities rejected reports at the time that she had been seized.
On Thursday, German police Bundeskriminalamt tweeted that they had found that the yacht was “subject to sanctions and could be legally detained in Hamburg.”
#BKA has identified the owner of M / S #Dilbar through in-depth investigations despite offshore evasion. This is Gulbahor Ismailova, Alisher Usmanov’s sister. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/L2zc0bP5jU
– Bundeskriminalamt (@bka) 13 April 2022
A police spokesman said the yacht could not be “sold, rented or pledged as collateral”.
@AuswaertigesAmt, @BMWK and @BMF_Bund guaranteed in Brussels that the Russian owner was sanctioned. Therefore, the luxury yacht M / S #Dilbar is subject to sanctions and can be legally registered in Hamburg. (2/2)
– Bundeskriminalamt (@bka) 13 April 2022
Dilbar was purchased in 2016 for a reported price of $ 600 million from German shipbuilder Lürssen, who built it to order for it over 52 months.
The company describes it as “one of the most sophisticated and challenging yachts ever created, both in terms of size and technology.”
During its commissioning, Peter Lursen, CEO of Lürssen, said: “Dilbar has the latest security technology from any superyacht in the world. But the things you read about containing an air defense system are nonsense.
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