German federal police announced on Thursday that they had seized $ 600 million (45 458 million) worth of Dilbar after weeks of painstaking economic investigation that revealed the yacht’s real ownership despite the intricate “offshore” web. The ship is flagged in the Cayman Islands and is registered with a portfolio company in Malta – both tax havens are favored by the world’s super-rich to park their wealth. German authorities say they have determined that the yacht eventually belonged to Usmanov’s sister, Gulbakhor Ismailova. Usmanov, a telecoms tycoon who owns the e 48m Beechwood House on London’s Highgate and the 16th-century Sutton Place in Surrey, was fined by the United Kingdom last month. The billionaire, who had significant interests in English football clubs Arsenal and Everton, had already been sanctioned by the EU and the US. Ismailova and another of Usmanov’s sisters, Saodat Narzieva, have also been sanctioned by the United Kingdom and the European Union. his sister as the sole owner of the yacht Dilbar “. The EU said it had “transferred significant assets to his sister Soadat Narzieva, including a single payment or a gift of $ 3 million.” “She also maintained 27 bank accounts in Switzerland, with hundreds of millions of dollars, which can be linked to her brother.” Subscribe to the daily Business Today email or follow the Guardian Business on Twitter at @BusinessDesk With 15,917 tons, the Dilbar is the largest motor yacht in the world with a total capacity and a typical crew of 96 people, with space for 24 passengers in 12 suites. Designed by British superyacht specialist Andrew Winch, it features a 25-meter indoor pool (the largest in the world on a private boat), a sauna and massage parlor, a cinema – and two helipads. The 156-meter-long vessel, which is undergoing extensive repairs in Hamburg, Germany, was inspected by police last month. However, German authorities denied reports at the time that he had been confiscated. On Thursday, German Bundeskriminalamt police posted on Twitter that they had found the yacht “subject to sanctions and could be legally seized in Hamburg”. #BKA has identified the owner of M / S #Dilbar through extensive investigations despite offshore concealment. This is Gulbakhor Ismailova, Alisher Usmanov’s sister. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/L2zc0bP5jU – Bundeskriminalamt (@bka) April 13, 2022 A police spokesman said the yacht could not be “sold, rented or pledged as collateral”. @AuswaertigesAmt, @BMWK and @BMF_Bund have ensured in Brussels that the Russian owner has been sanctioned. Therefore, the luxury yacht M / S #Dilbar is subject to sanction laws and could be legally installed in Hamburg. (2/2) – Bundeskriminalamt (@bka) April 13, 2022 Dilbar was purchased in 2016 for a reported cost of $ 600 million by German shipbuilder Lürssen, which built it specifically for him for 52 months. The company describes it as “one of the most complex and challenging yachts ever built, both in terms of size and technology.” During its release, Lürssen CEO Peter Lürssen said: “Dilbar has the most advanced security technologies of any superyacht in the world. “But the things you read about it containing an anti-aircraft missile defense system are all nonsense.”
