A RUSSIAN oligarch who owns the world’s largest sailing yacht has had his £450million boat seized after he was put on a sanctions list with Roman Abramovich.
Italian police have seized the vessel owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko after the businessman was placed on an EU sanctions list following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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The 470-foot Sailing Yacht A, which has a price tag of £44.6million has been sequestered at the northern port of Trieste.
Melnichenko owned major fertiliser producer EuroChem Group and coal company SUEK.
The companies said in statements on Thursday that he had resigned as a member of the board in both companies and withdrawn as their beneficiary, effective Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Melnichenko said the businessman had “no relation to the tragic events in Ukraine. He has no political affiliations”.
They said: “There is no justification whatsoever for placing him on the EU sanctions list.
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“We will be disputing these baseless and unjustified sanctions, and believe that the rule of law and common sense will prevail.”
It comes as Roman Abramovich was today banned from selling Chelsea after being slapped with sanctions today for being a Putin crony.
The club was thrown into limbo this morning after the oligarch had his assets frozen and blocked from visiting or doing business in Britain.
Earlier today his superyacht was spotted docking in Montenegro amid an international hunt for Russian oligarchs assets.
My Solaris, worth £430million, was spotted in Tivat, Montenegro this morning after several Russian tycoons appeared to be moving their plush boats to safe havens amid sanctions over the Ukraine invasion.
Abramovich, who owns Chelsea FC, appears to have moved both of his superyachts including Solaris, which boasts its own helipad and missile detection system, and Eclipse, worth £672m.
The Eclipse was last seen in the Caribbean sailing away from St Martin, but now appears to be heading though the Strait of Gibraltar – potentially heading towards the Solaris.
Staff on the Solaris reportedly claimed that scaffolding was ripped from the ship while it was undergoing repairs in a shipyard in Barcelona in an attempt to ensure the boat could leave quickly.
Montenegro and the Maldives do not have extradition treaties with the US, meaning that it is a safe haven for the yachts.
