Seized or sailing away: What we know about oligarchs and their assets

(Reuters) – The latest on Russia’s oligarchs and their assets:

ALISHER USMANOV

Alisher Usmanov, 68, a metals and telecoms tycoon with an estimated $16.2 billion net worth, has been sanctioned by the United States and European Union.

Seized:

– A villa in Golfo del Pevero, on the island of Sardinia, worth approximately $19 million, was seized by Italian authorities.

Suspended:

– The $600 million Dilbar superyacht is sitting in a Hamburg shipyard with authorities saying they have no plans to deliver it to the owner.

– Everton F.C. suspended its $15 million plus naming rights deal with Usmanov’s holding company USM.

– Usmanov gave up his presidency of the Fédération Internationale d’Escrime, fencing’s highest body, and said he would no longer play a role in the organisation.

– A Bombardier jet linked to Usmanov is one of a number of Russian planes reportedly stranded at the EuroPort airport, in the French Alsace, by Swiss airspace closures.

Sailing away:

– An Airbus A340 Prestige jet linked to Usmanov flew out of Munich, Germany to Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Feb. 28 and hasn’t been tracked since, according to Radar Box data.

Softly, softly:

– The U.S. Treasury, while blocking Usmanov’s personal assets, has left companies controlled by him off its list of sanctions in an effort not to raise the price of commodities.

ROMAN ABRAMOVICH

Roman Abramovich, 55, billionaire businessman with an estimated $12.3 billion fortune, has been sanctioned by Britain, and was added to the EU sanctions list on Tuesday.

Suspended:

– Abramovich’s attempt to sell Chelsea Football Club was halted when Britain announced sanctions. Britain’s asset freeze and sanctions bar the sale of players, new tickets and merchandise, but the team will be able to play matches.

– British MP Chris Bryant said Abramovich was trying to sell his 15-bedroom mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens to avoid sanctions. He bought the home in the area of London nicknamed “Billionaire’s Row” for 90 million pounds ($119 million) in 2011.

– The Kensington home, along with other property and his stakes in steelmaker Evraz and Norilsk Nickel, are also subject to the British sanctions. It was not immediately clear if any assets had been seized.

Stranded:

– An aircraft linked to Abramovich is at Europort Airport near Basel, which straddles the Swiss-French border, and is unable to leave due to Swiss airspace restrictions.

Signed over:

– New York City property records show a trio of Upper East Side properties worth $92.3 million are tied to his ex-wife Dasha Zhukova, a New York real estate developer married to shipping heir Stavros Niarchos. She is also building the 21-storey Ray Harlem, which will house the National Black Theater, according to her website.

Sailing away:

– The $600 million Solaris yacht linked to Abramovich left the Barcelona shipyard where it had been undergoing repairs on March 8, arriving in Montenegro territorial waters on March 12, according to monitoring site Marine Traffic. It is now on the move off the coast of the Greek island of Corfu but still “awaiting orders” on its final destination, according to the same monitoring site.

– A second yacht linked to Abramovich, Eclipse, was out of tracking coverage for over 24 hours from early on Sunday, according to Marine Traffic. Eclipse’s tracking system was back on for a few hours on Tuesday, showing the yacht north of Algeria in the Mediterranean Sea.

– A Boeing 787-8 linked to Abramovich flew from Moscow to Dubai on March 4, according to Radarbox data.

– A business jet linked to Abramovich landed in Moscow early on Tuesday from Istanbul, according to FLIGHTRADAR24 data. It was briefly in Israel, where Abramovich was spotted in an airport VIP lounger, before the jet departed to Turkey.

OLEG DERIPASKA

Oleg Deripaska, 54, billionaire industrialist who founded aluminium giant Rusal, was sanctioned by the United States in 2018 and added to a British sanction list on Thursday

Sanctioned:

– The fate of Deripaska’s multi-million pound property portfolio in Britain remained unclear after the government said its assets would be frozen.

Swarmed, not seized:

– In October 2021, FBI agents raided a historic New York City townhouse at 12 Gay Street in Greenwich Village as well as a Washington D.C. mansion connected to Deripaska. He responded on social media by saying nobody was living in those properties.

– “I have to ask: how much of Putin’s money was found in those abandoned houses yesterday?” he said, sarcastically inquiring whether investigators had discovered any mouldy jam or vodka in the cupboards.

– Through an LLC in the British Virgin Islands, Deripaska also owns a townhouse on 11 E. 64th Street, which he bought for $42.5 million in 2008, according to New York court records.

– These properties have not been seized by the government, despite sanctions that prevent him from doing business or owning property in the United States.

– Deripaska’s British Virgin Islands holding company also owns 5 Belgrave Square in London. He bought the mansion in the exclusive Belgravia district for 25 million pounds ($33 million) in 2003, according to multiple media reports.

– Squatters occupied 5 Belgrave Square on Monday, saying “this property has been liberated.”

Softened:

– U.S. sanctions were lifted against Rusal and its parent company En+ in 2019 when Deripaska reduced his stakes below a majority threshold to 44.95%. There are still concerns, however, that the Russian oligarch is pulling the strings of his business empire behind the scenes.

Sailing away:

– Deripaska’s $65 million yacht Clio is one of several vessels owned by billionaires anchored in the Maldives, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, according to shipping database MarineTraffic.

VLADIMIR POTANIN

Vladimir Potanin, 61, CEO of Norilsk Nickel with an estimated net worth of $22 billion, has not been sanctioned by the EU or United States.

Stepping down:

– The Guggenheim Museum said Potanin was stepping down as one of its trustees last week. He had held the position since 2002, acting as a major benefactor and sponsoring shows, including a Kandinsky exhibition currently in New York.

Sailing away:

– The billionaire’s 88-metre (290-foot) yacht Nirvana sailed to the Maldives, which has no extradition treaty with the United States, according to MarineTraffic.

– Potanin is estimated to have lost nearly a quarter of his wealth since sanctions impacted the rouble and the Russian economy, Bloomberg has reported.

IGOR SECHIN

Igor Sechin, 61, CEO of Rosneft and viewed as one of the most powerful people in Russia, has been sanctioned by the United States, EU and Britain. His ex-wife, Marina Sechina, was sanctioned by the EU on Tuesday.

Seized:

– French customs officers seized Sechin’s 190-foot (58-metre) Amore Vero yacht worth $120 million as it was trying to flee a French Riviera port.

ALEXEY MORDASHOV

Alexey Mordashov, 56, the son of a mill worker who became a steel magnate with estimated net worth of $29.1 billion, is on an EU sanctions list.

Shifted:

– Mordashov shifted his holdings in travel and tourism group TUI after sanctions were imposed on him, Bloomberg reported.

– A British filing showed the steel tycoon had shifted a $1.1 billion stake in mining company Nordgold to his wife Marina, Bloomberg reported.

Seized:

Italian authorities seized Mordashov’s Lady M yacht, moored in Imperia, and valued at 65 million euros ($72 million).

EUGENE SHVIDLER

Eugene Shvidler, 57, business associate of Roman Abramovich with estimated net worth of $1.7 billion.

Seized:

– Britain impounded a private jet it said was linked to Shvidler at Farnborough airport under new aviation sanctions that give it the authority to detain any Russian aircraft.

VLADIMIR SOLOVIEV

Vladimir Soloviev, 58, a pro-Putin Russian TV host who is on the EU sanctions list.

Seized:

– Two properties on Italy’s Lake Como worth 8 million euros belonging to Soloviev were seized by Italian authorities.

GENNADY TIMCHENKO

Gennady Timchenko, 69, chairman of the Russian national hockey league with stakes in oil and gas companies, has been sanctioned by the United States and the EU.

Seized:

– Italy seized Timchenko’s 50 million euro ($55 million)yacht called Lena as it was moored in San Remo.

OLEG SAVCHENKO

Oleg Savchenko, a member of Russia’s parliament

Seized:

– Savchenko’s 17th Century Tuscan villa Lazzareschi worth 3 million euros was taken by Italian authorities.

PETR AVEN

Petr Aven, oil investor who built a European business empire with an estimated net worth of $4.7 billion, is on an EU sanctions list.

Suspended:

– Aven’s stake in his LetterOne Investment company, with holdings in Spain’s Dia supermarket chain and a German energy group, was frozen following the EU’s sanctions.

– Latvia’s government is looking to revoke his citizenship, despite his plans to open a museum there a week before the war in Ukraine started, Britain’s Financial Times (FT) reported.

Stepped down:

– Stepped down as trustee at the Royal Academy of the Arts in London. The arts organisation said it would return his donation towards its current Francis Bacon exhibition.

MIKHAIL FRIDMAN

Mikhail Fridman, Aven’s partner at LetterOne with an estimated net worth of $12.3 billion, is on the EU sanctions list.

Stepped down:

– Withdrew from the LetterOne investment firm he co-founded

Suspended:

– Pamplona Capital management said it had began disentangling itself from LetterOne. Other banks told the FT they were also reviewing their lending relationships.

– Fridman’s north London home, which he bought for 65 million pounds ($86 million) in 2016, is not believed to have been frozen as he is not subject to sanctions in Britain, according to multiple media reports.

ALEXANDER ABRAMOV

Alexander Abramov, co-founder and chairman of Russian steel producer Evraz, with an estimated net worth of $5.9 billion, is not sanctioned.

Sailing away:

– Abramov’s yacht The Titan arrived in the Maldives last week, according to MarineTraffic.

ANDREY IGOREVICH MELNICHENKO

Melnichenko owned major fertiliser producer EuroChem Group and coal company SUEK.

Stepped down:

– The companies said in statements on March 10 that he had resigned as a member of the board in both companies and withdrawn as their beneficiary.

Seized:

– The 143-metre (470-foot) Sailing Yacht A, which has a price tag of 530 million euros ($578 million), has been sequestered in the northern Italian port of Trieste, the Italian government said.

ALEXANDER MIKHEYEV

Mikheyev heads Russian weapon exporting group Rosoboronoexport and is under EU sanctions.

Detention:

– Spanish authorities detained a yacht called Lady Anastasia owned by Mikheyev on Tuesday. The 48-meter (158-foot) yacht, which sails under a Saint Vincent and Grenadines’ flag, cannot leave a marina in Mallorca, where it is now moored.

SERGEI CHEMEZOV

Former KGB officer Chemezov is the head of Russian state conglomerate Rostec. Chemezov was sanctioned by the United States in 2014 and Britain in 2020 over Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, and was named in sanctions lists this month by the United States and Australia.

Seized:

– Spain temporarily seized on Monday the 85-meter (280-foot) superyacht Valerie in Barcelona. The $140 million yacht, sailing under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, is registered to Chemezov’s stepdaughter, Anastasia Ignatova, through a British Virgin Islands company, according to a 2021 article published in the Pandora Papers information leak. The yacht will remain under detention while Spanish authorities confirm its ownership.

($1 = 0.7597 pounds)

($1 = 0.9058 euros)

(Compiled by Leela de Kretser, Frank Jack Daniel and Catarina Demony; editing by Richard Pullin, Alex Richardson, Jane Merriman and Mark Heinrich)