Staff and crew who work on yachts or planes owned by Russian oligarchs could face UK sanctions under a move by the Foreign Office to extend the penalties. The aim is to make it harder for the yachts – sometimes indirectly owned by oligarchs – to be maintained by crew and covers anyone providing technical assistance and maintenance to a yacht or plane. It will also restrict the ability of oligarchs to find staff willing to sail or fly their assets out of the UK jurisdiction.
Two superyachts linked to the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich have docked in Turkey, beyond the reach of UK and EU sanctions. But if it could be proven that UK firms were providing assistance to the yachts, they could be punished through sanctions. UK officials note that in Italy, the crew of suspect yachts have either been changed or refused to cooperate with police over revealing the identity of the vessel’s ultimate owner. The Italian police have been investigating Scheherazade, one of the world’s largest superyachts and currently in a Tuscan luxury resort, which some believe is owned by Vladimir Putin. The Foreign Office has also said sanctions are being extended to cover illegal activity not just in Crimea but in the Russian-controlled territories of Donetsk and Luhansk. The legislation takes the form of a statutory instrument – a form of legislation that has to be debated by MPs but quickly becomes law. The UK government seized its first superyacht in British waters earlier this week, adding to a tally of seven in Europe. The £38m yacht, named Phi, is owned by a Russian businessman, understood not to be an individual facing sanctions. Transport secretary Grant Shapps said the individual was not currently under sanctions but had “close connections” to Putin. The nearly 60-metre-long Phi was first identified as being potentially Russian-owned on 13 March but its ownership is “deliberately well hidden”, the government said. It added that the company the ship is registered to is based in the Caribbean islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis but it carried Maltese flags to hide its origins. Many yachts remain at large – some are on the move, others are moored in places that are currently sheltered from sanctions, including the Maldives.
Many superyachts are linked to Russian billionaires but their ownership is shrouded in secrecy. Boats are often registered through a series of offshore companies including in the UK overseas territories. Although seizing yachts is an attention-grabbing way of demonstrating political willingness to go after Putin’s revenue streams, most Whitehall officials believe issues such as energy import bans from Russia are far more important. It has also emerged at least eight Russian oligarchs on the UK sanctions list over their links to Vladimir Putin were granted “golden visas” to live in Britain. The government also confirmed it was cutting off two Russia oligarchs under sanctions, Eugene Shvidler and Oleg Tinkov, from their jets. Shvidler is a close business partner of Abramovich with a fortune valued at $1.6bn by Forbes magazine. He has had his two private jets based at Farnborough airport already seized by the UK. Tinkov, a billionaire banker, is also said to have jets deregistered by the Isle of Man in a pre-emptive move, but they are now seized. The UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, said: “There is no doubt that Putin and his elite have been surprised by the strength of our sanctions. “We will continue to ramp up the pressure so long as Russian troops are in Ukraine, targeting not only the businesses of oligarchs but also their assets and international lifestyles.”