Seized Russian-Owned Yachts: Where, and How, They Are Now

It’s been nearly four years since Russia invaded Ukraine and governments began freezing assets belonging to Russians with ties to the Vladimir Putin regime. Amid political and legal wrangling, Russian-owned jets, homes, and yachts have been confiscated. Here’s where things stand with the seized Russian-owned yachts. Some have changed hands, while others are in such poor condition they may not sail again.

Unquestionably, Amadea is the most publicized among the seized yachts. Fijian officials executed the seizure at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in May 2022. Thus began a three-year legal battle between the U.S. government and Millemarin Investment, which claimed ownership. According to the DOJ, Millemarin controlled the 348-foot (106-meter) yacht for Suleiman Kerimov, a twice-sanctioned businessman and politician. Initially, he landed on the U.S. sanctions list in April 2018 for involvement in Russia’s activities in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Following this, Kerimov reportedly used American financial institutions to make U.S. dollar transactions for Amadea, without a license. The 2018 and 2022 sanctions led to a March 2025 court decision granting the DOJ’s forfeiture request. The yacht sold at auction in early September, the first stateside sale of a yacht related to Russia’s invasion. Amadea departed San Diego on November 14 for Fort Lauderdale. Since leaving that city in December, her whereabouts are unknown.

In March 2022, French authorities arrested Amore Vero (ex-St. Princess Olga, pictured) in a shipyard in La Ciotat, France, due to European Union (EU) sanctions. The 280-footer (85.5-meter) belongs to “a company whose main shareholder is Igor Sechin, a Rosneft executive,” according to a French Ministry of Economy and Finance statement at the time. Rosneft is an energy company with headquarters in Moscow. Amore Vero arrived in La Ciotat in January 2022 for repair work, anticipating a departure in April. However, French customs received a tip in March that led it to board the yacht. “The yacht was making preparations to depart hastily without having completed the scheduled maintenance work,” the ministry revealed. This violated the EU sanctions, and “the vessel was therefore seized.” Amore Vero remains in La Ciotat.

In March 2022, Gibraltar authorities arrested Axioma, indirectly due to sanctions. It followed an admiralty claim by JP Morgan Chase. Pyrene Investments, the registered owner, failed to make loan payments for the 236-foot (72-meter) yacht. Russian steel magnate Dmitry Pumpyansky, reportedly her ultimate beneficial owner, signed a guarantee for the loan. But, following the EU and the United Kingdom (UK) both sanctioning him in 2022, his assets froze. Under Gibraltar law, UK sanctions automatically apply. The bank took the position that being sanctioned equated breaching the loan agreement. Furthermore, shares of Pyrene Investments’ parent company transferred to another individual, another loan-agreement breach. So, it requested sale of Axioma at auction, to recoup the funds. The Gibraltar Supreme Court ruled in favor of the bank in June 2022, and the auction followed in August. The admiralty marshal of Gibraltar confirmed that Axioma sold for $37.5 million. 

The case of Crescent is similar to that of several seized Russian-owned yachts. Despite Spain’s Ministry of Transport, Mobility, and Urban Agenda (MITMA) detaining Crescent due to Russian sanctions in March 2022, the government has yet to arrest the 443-footer (135-meter). The ministry indicated that it “agreed to provisionally immobilize” her. It further admitted it was trying to determine the owner’s identity and would formally arrest the yacht if it verified ties to the Russian government or sanctions. Since then, the detention has remained unchanged. Spanish authorities and agents from the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) did board her in Tarragona in June 2023. But, neither MITMA nor the FBI revealed details. Notably, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, one of the world’s largest investigative journalism organizations, says Igor Sechin (see Amore Vero above) is her owner.

German officials confirmed that they had “impounded” Dilbar in April 2022. The action occurred at Lürssen, where she remains. Germany’s federal investigative police unit and the EU determined that the owner is Gulbakhor Ismailova. Ismailova is the sister of Alisher Usmanov, the previously widely reported owner. Usmanov has business interests in metals, mining, telecommunications, and more. The EU says Usmanov transferred ownership of the 512-foot (156-meter), among other assets, to her through a series of corporations. The EU and the UK sanctioned Ismailova in 2022 due to her connection to Usmanov. American authorities sanctioned her the following year. Both the EU and the UK as well as the United States sanctioned Usmanov in 2022, shortly before his sister. Ismailova has lost court appeals to overturn the sanctions.

Since most seized Russian-owned yachts are quite large, stories such as that of Divina Barbara (sistership shown) tend to get fewer headlines. Finland’s Enforcement Directorate took possession of the 115-footer (35-meter) in the summer of 2022. It indicated that she belonged to Eduard Khudainatov, the owner of an oil and gas company and former head of Rosneft. The EU placed Khudainatov under sanctions in June 2022. A Swiss-Belgian businessman appealed the seizure shortly thereafter, stating that he was the actual owner. However, in November of this year, a Finnish court ruled he presented insufficient evidence and was a strawman for Khudainatov. Finland may formally confiscate the yacht in the coming months.

Italy’s Guardia di Finanza has been detaining Lady M since March 2022. Officials identify the owner as Alexei Mordashov. He is the largest stakeholder in Severastal, Russia’s largest steel company. Additionally, he has business stakes in telecom, media, gold mining, and engineering, plus ties to Russian President Vladmir Putin. Multiple Western governments have him on their sanctions lists. So far, Italy has not moved to arrest Lady M, measuring 213 feet (65 meters), leaving her in limbo similar to other yachts.

Shortly after detaining Lady M, Italy’s Guardia di Finanza seized Lena in San Remo in April 2022. Her owner, Gennady Timchenko, landed on the EU sanctions list in February 2022. He owns a private investment company, has interests in gas and petrochemicals, and is close to Putin. The 126-foot (38.5-meter) Lena (sistership pictured) remains unable to depart under her own control.

With about 8,730 square feet (811 square meters) of floor-to-ceiling glass, Luminosity is 353 feet (107.6 meters) LOA. Andrey Guryev, the founder and largest shareholder of phosphates fertilizer company PhosAgro, reportedly acquired her in early 2022. Sanctions by the United States, EU, and UK froze his bank accounts soon after. This coincided with the yacht’s arrival in Montenegro. Luminosity is still there, deteriorating. Video taken in November 2025 reveals the extent of the poor exterior condition. Her crew is a fraction of the original headcount of 30. Notably, she was listed for sale in 2024 for €135 million. However, a few creditors successfully petitioned a local court in April 2025 to block Luminosity from departing, selling, or transferring. Brokerage listings subsequently were removed. She remains in limbo: not arrested, but not under her own control.

Spanish authorities arrested Meridian A in November 2022, following unpaid work at MB92. The 279-footer (85-meter) arrived at the shipyard in February 2022. Spain placed the yacht under “provisional retention” in March, suspecting the owner had ties to Putin. A representative of Spain’s transport ministry indicated that payments to MB92 stopped after the freeze. The yacht remained at the shipyard until late September 2022, when transportation officials moved her to Marina Vela. Her ownership company, in the British Virgin Islands, is under the control of Anastasia Ignatova. She’s the stepdaughter of Sergei Chermezov, the CEO of Rostec, a Russian state-owned military-industrial company. Ignatova and Chemezov each were sanctioned by the EU and the United States in March 2022. Chemerzov has been trying to get the sanctions lifted by the United States since March 2025. Ignatova has been trying to do the same with the EU since November 2024.

Phi is one of the more controversial cases of seized Russian-owned yachts. Her owner has never been under sanctions. Yet, The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom declared Phi lawfully detained after a three-year legal battle by Sergei Naumenko, a Russian-born businessman and the ultimate beneficial owner. Although the government hasn’t arrested the yacht nor stripped him of ownership, Naumenko cannot use Phi. He further cannot charter her as planned. In the Supreme Court ruling, the justices stated that Naumenko would likely spend the yacht’s charter income in Russia. They further said the money would likely increase his stature “within the circle of Russian society in which he moves.” The 192-footer (58.5-meter) has been frozen in London since March 2022. It prevents moving her and contractors from performing necessary repairs. That in turn has led to losing insurance coverage and class registration.

Croatian officials arrested Royal Romance in their waters in 2022. Despite a court-ordered forfeiture two years later, she’s still under arrest. The 303-footer (92-meter) has been under the control of Ukraine’s Asset Management and Tracing Agency (ARMA) since April 2022. Royal Romance’s owner is Viktor Medvedchuk, a former Ukrainian politician sanctioned since that same year. He’s further been under U.S. sanctions since 2014 for undermining Ukrainian sovereignty. ARMA attempted to auction her in 2024, but a dispute with the Croatian government led to its cancellation. In a video interview in October 2025, the former head of ARMA says Royal Romance is in excellent shape and well maintained. She further says that Ukrainian intelligence officials thwarted an attempted theft of the yacht by individuals on behalf of Medvedchuk. Overall, Royal Romance is the first case in which Ukraine has navigated a foreign jurisdiction to seize and prepare a high-value asset for sale.

Ferdinando Giugliano, the Italian prime minister’s media advisor, announced the arrest of Sailing Yacht A in March 2022. Sailing Yacht A belongs to Andrey Melnichenko, a Russian national who has for many years held assets in fertilizer and commodities. The EU sanctioned him for alleged close connections to the Russian government. The 468’5” (142.81-meter) yacht sits in drydock in Trieste, where the arrest took place. No further actions have taken place.

The Italian government ordered Scheherazade to stay put in a shipyard in Marina di Carrara in May 2022. Afterwards, The Italian Sea Group released a statement confirming that the 459-footer (140-meter) was detained at its facility, where she was undergoing work. Italian officials haven’t revealed details about the owner. The Anti-Corruption Foundation, a Russian watchdog group which publishes research into Russian government officials’ alleged illicit behavior, claims the owner is Putin. It also disputes reports that Eduard Khudainatov is the actual beneficial owner. Khudainatov, who wasn’t sanctioned in 2022 but presently is, previously headed Russian energy company Rosneft.

Tango was the first U.S-led seizure, occurring in April 2022 in Spain in cooperation with Spanish officials. The 255-foot (77.7-meter) megayacht belongs to Viktor Vekselberg, who is on the U.S sanctions list. Government officials claim Vekselberg has carried out diplomatic activity and soft power activities for the Russian government. Notably, the arrest also relates to alleged activity that landed Vekselberg on a Treasury Department sanctions list in 2018. He purportedly obscured his ownership while making U.S. dollar payments through American banks for the megayacht’s support and maintenance, plus his personal use of her. Despite being the first yacht arrested by the United States, officials haven’t moved to formally confiscate her. That would clear the way for a sale at auction.