French and German authorities have seized super yachts owned by Russian oligarchs as part of the sanctions against Kremlin. Among them is a yacht owned by Igor Sechin, boss of Russian state energy company Rosneft and a close ally of the Russian President; it was grabbed by French customs officers near Marseille, reports the BBC. German authorities, in turn, seized a $600m vessel, Dilbar, owned by Russian metal tycoon Alisher Usmanov. He also owns a £50m Surrey mansion but has faced no sanctions in the UK. It is understood that Prime Minister Boris Johnson t 'can't crackdown on the Russian super rich for months thanks to bungling civil servants.’
London is home to several Russian billionaires with suspected links to Kremlin who own at least £1.5billion of property. Lawyers say the past week has allowed oligarchs to move cash out of banks into Bitcoin and other assets.
These are the latest moves against Russia as sanctions are ramped up.
BBC understands that some oligarchs sanctioned by the European Union are "shocked" to find their debit cards no longer function, and they are now relying on using cash from safes.
