After being hit with a hefty fine for having allegedly illegal animal pelts on his 151-foot yacht, Tamir Sapir is saying it was all a misunderstanding.
According to information released last week by the office of U.S. Attorney Alexander Acosta, Mystère (above), which belongs to the New York-based businessman, was undergoing a routine check by customs agents in Port Everglades back in December 2007 aboard a transport ship when they saw items ranging from a Bengal tiger’s head and zebra head to elephant tusks and more. U.S. Customs agents seized the megayacht and removed the hides, heads, and carvings, based on the international Lacey Act, which bans products made from endangered species, and the Endangered Species Act, which prohibits possession of items such as these within U.S. borders. An investigation conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revealed Ruzial Ltd., a Cayman Islands firm, is the yacht’s registered owner and that Sapir serves as its director. A few days before the U.S. Attorney’s announcement, Ruzial was fined $150,000 and pleaded guilty to violating the acts, additionally agreeing to forfeit all of the unusual decorative items. Mystère has since been returned to her owner.
Here’s where it gets interesting. On Friday, through a statement issued by a public relations firm, Sapir said that the violation charge and subsequent guilty plea made by Ruzial were predicated on missing paperwork related to the country of origin of the items. In fact, he avered, everything was “legitimately purchased in the U.S. market and used for decorative purposes only.” He went on to say, “The items were not acquired for import or export, and all are readily sold through retail channels and at auctions in the U.S., U.K., and Europe.” The statement additionally explains that since Sapir spends much of his time living aboard Mystère, he believed the yacht qualified as his residence. He therefore also believed that he was permitted to have the pelts and other specimens, since the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act allow them to be kept in private homes.
It gets even more interesting if a report from the Miami Herald is correct: According to the paper, INTERPOL will investigate how exactly Mystère was allowed to leave Italy for the United States back in 2007 with these allegedly illegal items aboard.
photo: SuperyachtTimes.com
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