A $75 million superyacht, owned by a Russian oligarch sanctioned by the invasion of Ukraine, was seized when it docked in Gibraltar, the local government reported.
The Axiom, 240 feet in length, belong to Russian businessman Dmitry Pumpyansky, as reported to Business Insider by the government of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located on the south coast of Spain.
Pumpyansky, who has an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion, has owned Russia's largest steel pipe manufacturer, TMK, according to Forbes.
Born in 1963 and with the title of Doctor of Economics, he started out as a merchant, then supervised several metallurgical plants in the Urals in the 1990s before taking over the Sinarsky tube factory.
He teamed up with fellow billionaires Sergei Popov and Andrei Melnichenko to acquire the TMK pipe conglomerate, and then bought it in 2006.
The manufacture of pipes became the source of wealth for this executive now sanctioned for his ties with President Vladimir Putin. Its TMK, supplier to Gazprom since 1998, is number 1 in Russia.
In 2011, Pumpyansky's joint venture with Siemens won a $2.7 billion contract from the Russian Railways to supply modern trains called Lastochka (swallow bird).
His companies also helped restore a stadium that hosted the 2018 World Cup in Yekaterinburg.
A few days ago he got rid of his stake in the Moscow-based pipe manufacturer, and left its board of directors.
Its assets were frozen by the UK and the EU as part of the sanctions imposed last week for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, BI recalled.
Axiom is valued by SuperYachtFan at $75 million. It was previously docked in Antigua, an island in the Caribbean, until it sailed on March 3 and reached Gibraltar 18 days later, according to ship tracker Marine Traffic.
In a statement Monday, the Gibraltar government said that “Axiom was confirmed to be the subject of an arrest action by a major international bank in the Supreme Court of Gibraltar.” He added: “The ship is now subject to arrest by the Marshal of the Admiralty until further notice.”
In a statement after Business Insider, the Gibraltar government said: “The owner of the yacht is Dmitry Pumpyansky.”
Axiom, built in 2013, can accommodate 22 guests and crew members on board, said SuperYachtFan. Axioma also has two large swimming pools, a gym and a cinema, SuperYachtFan added.
It should be recalled that several superyachts linked to Russian oligarchs have been seized by countries that have sanctioned them as part of efforts to punish Russia and President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine.
In particular, Italy has seized a $578 million yacht linked to Andrey Melnichenko; France has seized a $120 million vessel linked to Igor Sechin; and Spain has retained a $153 million superyacht linked to Sergei Chemezov.
On the other hand, the investigation team of the imprisoned Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, claimed to have found in Italy a 140-meter-long yacht that would belong to the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, and would be valued at $700 million.
The yacht, named “Schherazade”, is now docked in the Italian town of Marina de Carrera, a small town on the Tuscan coast.
The investigation admits that it has not been able to confirm documentarily that the vessel belongs to Putin, but considers that the best proof is that it is employed by members of the FSO, the Federal Protection Service.
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