Gibraltar receives 63 offers for a seized yacht from the Russian oligarch

A court in this British enclave, seized in Gibraltar, announced that the yacht of the Russian oligarch Dmitriy Pampinsky, targeted by British sanctions in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, received 63 auction offers.

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The Naval Judiciary (Admiralty Marshall), which “will choose the winner, but the latter and the value of the bid will be confidential,” said 63 bids had been received, noting that the sale could be concluded “in about 10 to 14 days.”

According to the judiciary, the Axioma, seized in March, is a 72-metre luxury yacht flying the Maltese flag, capable of accommodating 12 passengers and 20 crew members.

The auction does not include the bottles from the bar, whose total value is estimated at more than 150 thousand euros.

This ship was seized by the authorities of this small region in the far south of Spain after a complaint filed by the American bank JP Morgan.

This bank had in December granted a loan of 20.5 million euros to a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, the shareholder of which was a Cypriot company, itself owned by Dmitriy Pampinski.

JP Morgan considers that placing the oligarch on the list of Russian figures targeted by British sanctions constitutes a violation of this loan agreement. Sanctions in particular lead to the freezing of the assets of the businessmen involved, which jeopardizes the repayment of debts.

Therefore, the bank appealed to the Gibraltar authorities to confiscate the yacht that was registered as one of the loan guarantees.

Proceeds from the auction will go to the High Court of Gibraltar, which will then determine the oligarchy’s priority for claims made by creditors.

Dmitriy Pampinsky, head of pipeline giant TMK, has also been targeted due to EU sanctions imposed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Several countries, such as Spain, Italy and France, have confiscated yachts belonging to the richest Russians under European sanctions that will freeze all of their assets in the European Union.