Enlarge image
The »Axioma« in Gibraltar at the end of March
Photo: Jon Nazca / REUTERS
Gibraltar has auctioned off Russian oligarch Dimitri Pumpianski's yacht, which was confiscated in March, for $37.5 million.
The responsible court said on Tuesday that the name of the buyer would not be published.
The Gibraltar authorities want to use the proceeds of the auction to compensate the oligarch's creditors.
A total of 63 bids were received for the »Axioma« – a 72 meter long luxury yacht that sails under the Maltese flag and has, among other things, six decks, two large pools and a cinema.
It was seized in March by British territory authorities in southern Spain after US bank JPMorgan filed a lawsuit.
In December 2021, the bank granted a loan of 20.5 million euros to a company registered in the British Virgin Islands.
Among the owners of this company was a Cypriot company, which in turn was owned by Pumpianski.
JPMorgan considered Pumpianski's listing on the UK sanctions list against Russia a breach of the loan agreement.
Therefore, the bank in Gibraltar applied to confiscate and sell the yacht.
JPMorgan is demanding that the proceeds from the sale be used to repay the loan.
Pumpianski is the boss of the largest Russian pipeline manufacturer TMK.
Therefore, there are also EU sanctions against him in connection with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
Because of the war, several European countries, including Spain, Italy and France, have confiscated yachts belonging to Russian oligarchs.
The "Axioma" is the first yacht owned by an oligarch to change hands due to sanctions resulting from the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, the newspaper "Gibraltar Chronicle" wrote.
aar/AFP
