Maldives gives shelter to sanctioned Russian billionaires' yachts

Maldives gives shelter to sanctioned Russian billionaires’ yachts. 

Andrey Melnichenko, the wealthy owner of a coal and fertilizer company, was placed on the European Union’s sanctions list on March 9. 

According to maritime data, his superyacht Motor Yacht A ceased broadcasting its whereabouts while in Maldives seas.

Four days later, officials in Italy confiscated another of Melnichenko’s vessels: the world’s largest sailing boat, valued at $578 million by Italian financial police.

Turning off electronics that allow authorities to track a ship’s location can assist authorities in keeping yachts out of sight.

According to interviews with a dozen people familiar with internal discussions about responding to US and European financial sanctions.

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It includes government ministers, diplomats, and experts in the country’s superyacht industry. The chances of action against the property of sanctioned oligarchs are slim.

Because of the Maldives’ cautious attitude to implementing sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Indian Ocean island country has emerged as a desirable destination for Russian oligarchs with yachts.

Melnichenko’s boat is one of six Russian-linked vessels that have sailed between the atolls of the Maldives, southwest of India, since Western nations imposed sanctions on several billionaires in reaction to the February 24 invasion.

According to data provided by MarineTraffic, a maritime analytics service, three of the boats concealed their current positions, altered claimed destinations, or went into foreign seas.

Taking yachts is “fanciful” since the Maldives’ judicial system is “weak,” according to the country’s chief prosecutor, Hussain Shameem, who added that officials would be unable to readily seize visiting vessels unless a crime was committed under local law.

Requests for comment on the deactivation of Motor Yacht A’s location devices and its current ownership status were submitted to Melnichenko’s spokeswoman and his charity foundation, fertilizer maker EuroChem Group, and coal business SUEK, all of which he resigned from in March.

Last month, his spokeswoman told Reuters that the billionaire would contest the penalties and that he had no political links.

According to images given by its function Object() { [native code] }, the 119-meter (390-foot) Motor Yacht A includes crystal furnishings and three swimming pools. 

It is valued at $300 million in specialised boating periodicals. Melnichenko’s wife claimed to have helped with the interior design.

In a statement to the BBC in 2017, a spokeswoman for Melnichenko stated that the sailing vessel belonged to his employer. Philippe Starck, a well-known French designer, designed both boats.