In Italy, four days later, authorities seized another of Melnichenko’s ships – the world’s largest sailing yacht, valued at $ 578 million by the Italian financial police. Turning off devices that allow authorities to track the whereabouts of a ship can help keep yachts out of sight. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register In the Maldives, however, the chances of action against the property of punished oligarchs are slim, according to interviews with 12 people familiar with internal discussions on how to respond to US and European financial sanctions, including ministers. diplomats and industry superyacht industry specialists. The Maldives authorities’ cautious approach to imposing sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means that the island nation of the Indian Ocean has become an attractive destination for Russian yacht owners who own yachts. Melnichenko’s boat is one of six Russian-linked yachts that have slipped between Maldivian atolls in southwestern India since Western countries hit some oligarchs with sanctions in response to the February 24 invasion. Three of the yachts hid their live locations, changed reported destinations or moved to international waters, according to data provided by MarineTraffic, a marine analytics provider. read more The idea of seizing the boats is “overdone” because the Maldives legal system is not strong enough, Attorney General Hussain Shameem said in an interview, adding that authorities could not easily seize the visiting ships unless a crime has been committed in accordance with local authorities. law. Requests for comments regarding the deactivation of the Motor Yacht A tracking devices and their current ownership status were sent to Melnichenko’s representative and his charity, the fertilizer producer EuroChem Group, and the coal company SUEK – two of which resigned in March – they remained unanswered. Last month, his spokesman told Reuters that the businessman would challenge the sanctions, adding that he had no political convictions. The 119-meter (390-foot) Motor Yacht A features crystal furniture and three swimming pools, as shown by photos released by its manufacturer, and is valued in special boat versions at $ 300 million. Melnichenko’s wife said she was involved in interior design. A spokesman for Melnichenko in 2017 acknowledged in a statement to the BBC that the sailboat belonged to his boss. Both boats were designed by Philippe Starck, the famous French designer. SAFE SHELTER The situation in the Maldives underscores the difficulty facing Western powers in drowning out the wealth of sanctions-targeted oligarchs over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as many nations around the world continue to provide safe havens, sources told Reuters. in the Maldives. The United States, Britain and the European Union have imposed extensive sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, lawmakers and businessmen in the wake of what Moscow calls a special military operation aimed at “demilitarizing” and “denationalizing” Ukraine. European countries have confiscated property, including villas and boats, with authorities seizing at least six ships said to belong to some of the dozens of sanctioned oligarchs. Peter Stano, a spokesman for the European Commission, said the sanctions were not binding on non-EU or non-aligned countries such as the Maldives, but called on all countries to abide by them. The Maldives has voted in favor of condemning Russia’s invasion of the United Nations and has publicly stated that it will assist in international efforts against the sanctioned Russians. In fact, officials say they are concerned about the financial impact of deterring wealthy Russian visitors. With their whitewashed beaches and approximately 1,200 islands, most of them uninhabited, the Maldives is a favorite destination of the super-rich. From a quagmire with few natural resources beyond tuna and coconuts, tourism has led it to a middle-income country for the past three decades. It had a per capita GDP before the pandemic of over $ 10,000 – the highest in South Asia. Tourism accounts for about a third of the $ 5.6 billion economy. The Russians have higher-than-average spending and were by far the largest number of arrivals in January, the last month before the invasion of Ukraine, according to the tourism ministry. Since then, arrivals from Russia have dropped by 70%, said Tourism Minister Abdulla Mausoom. He wants to reverse this. “Our entry policy is very open. The Maldives is an open country,” he said. “NO ONE CAN TOUCH THEM” Abdul Hannan runs Seal Superyachts Maldives, providing fuel and food to boat owners, including Russian customers. Hanan said yachts usually cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a week and that about half of his customers are Russian. Like other superyacht owners, they often spend the winter in the Indian Ocean and spend the summer in Europe, he said. Hanan said he had met some Russian owners of their superyachts since the sanctions were announced, describing them as “humble, normal people” having a difficult time. He did not say whether the people were being sanctioned. “At the moment, they are trying to keep the yachts in international waters, where they may be idle for months at a time,” he said. “Then no one can touch them.” He declined to name customers, citing confidentiality. A spokesman for the Maldives customs, which monitors maritime traffic in their waters, did not respond to a request for comment on the number of Russian vessels currently in the area. MINUTE DIPLOMATS While Maldivian institutions will find it difficult to ignore a warning from the US Treasury Department that the failure to seize Russian assets will affect their access to US financial markets, no such message has been sent, said a US . Asked about locations including the Maldives, Andrew Adams, head of a US task force aimed at freezing oligarchs’ assets, told Reuters that Washington viewed co-operation “at a high level” even when the oligarchs were trying to hide. yachts, planes or other movable property in countries believed to be secretive. However, forcing politically unstable and economically limited Maldives to make a tough choice over sanctions could bring them closer to China, two Western diplomats said. A previous government had strengthened relations with Beijing, although relations with the West and its traditional ally India are now improving. “We are aware of the financial risks involved,” one diplomat said of the Maldives if it follows a hard line. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Alasdair Pal and Mohamed Junayd on Male Additional citations by Sarah Lynch in Washington, Jan Strupczewski in Brussels and Dasha Afanasieva in London Edited by Frank Jack Daniel Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
title: “Maldives Shelters Sanctioned Russian Billionaires Yachts " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-28” author: “Tracy Mallory”
MALE (Reuters) – A day after coal and fertilizer billionaire Andrey Melnichenko was placed on the European Union’s sanctions list on March 9, the Motor Yacht A superyacht stopped broadcasting while in Maldivian waters, data show. In Italy, four days later, authorities seized another of Melnichenko’s ships – the world’s largest sailing yacht, valued at $ 578 million by the Italian financial police. Turning off devices that allow authorities to track the whereabouts of a ship can help keep yachts out of sight. In the Maldives, however, the chances of action against the property of punished oligarchs are slim, according to interviews with 12 people familiar with internal discussions on how to respond to US and European financial sanctions, including ministers. diplomats and industry superyacht industry specialists. The Maldives authorities’ cautious approach to imposing sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means that the island nation of the Indian Ocean has become an attractive destination for Russian yacht owners who own yachts. Melnichenko’s boat is one of six Russian-linked yachts that have slipped between Maldivian atolls in southwestern India since Western countries hit some oligarchs with sanctions in response to the February 24 invasion. Three of the yachts hid their live locations, changed reported destinations or moved to international waters, according to data provided by MarineTraffic, a marine analytics provider. The idea of seizing the boats is “overdone” because the Maldives legal system is not strong enough, Attorney General Hussain Shameem said in an interview, adding that authorities could not easily seize the visiting ships unless a crime has been committed in accordance with local authorities. law. Requests for comments regarding the deactivation of the Motor Yacht A tracking devices and their current ownership status were sent to Melnichenko’s representative and his charity, the fertilizer producer EuroChem Group, and the coal company SUEK – two of which resigned in March – they remained unanswered. The story goes on Last month, his spokesman told Reuters that the businessman would challenge the sanctions, adding that he had no political convictions. The 119-meter (390-foot) Motor Yacht A features crystal furniture and three swimming pools, as shown by photos released by its manufacturer, and is valued in special boat versions at $ 300 million. Melnichenko’s wife said she was involved in interior design. A spokesman for Melnichenko in 2017 acknowledged in a statement to the BBC that the sailboat belonged to his boss. Both boats were designed by Philippe Starck, the famous French designer. SAFE SHELTER The situation in the Maldives underscores the difficulty facing Western powers in drowning out the wealth of sanctions-targeted oligarchs over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as many nations around the world continue to provide safe havens, sources told Reuters. in the Maldives. The United States, Britain and the European Union have imposed extensive sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, lawmakers and businessmen in the wake of what Moscow calls a special military operation aimed at “demilitarizing” and “denationalizing” Ukraine. European countries have confiscated property, including villas and boats, with authorities seizing at least six ships said to belong to some of the dozens of sanctioned oligarchs. Peter Stano, a spokesman for the European Commission, said the sanctions were not binding on non-EU or non-aligned countries such as the Maldives, but called on all countries to abide by them. The Maldives has voted in favor of condemning Russia’s invasion of the United Nations and has publicly stated that it will assist in international efforts against the sanctioned Russians. In fact, officials say they are concerned about the financial impact of deterring wealthy Russian visitors. With their whitewashed beaches and approximately 1,200 islands, most of them uninhabited, the Maldives is a favorite destination of the super-rich. From a quagmire with few natural resources beyond tuna and coconuts, tourism has led it to a middle-income country for the past three decades. It had a per capita GDP before the pandemic of over $ 10,000 – the highest in South Asia. Tourism accounts for about a third of the $ 5.6 billion economy. The Russians have higher-than-average spending and were by far the largest number of arrivals in January, the last month before the invasion of Ukraine, according to the tourism ministry. Since then, arrivals from Russia have dropped by 70%, said Tourism Minister Abdulla Mausoom. He wants to reverse this. “Our entry policy is very open. The Maldives is an open country,” he said. “NO ONE CAN TOUCH THEM” Abdul Hannan runs Seal Superyachts Maldives, providing fuel and food to boat owners, including Russian customers. Hanan said yachts usually cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a week and that about half of his customers are Russian. Like other superyacht owners, they often spend the winter in the Indian Ocean and spend the summer in Europe, he said. Hanan said he had met some Russian owners of their superyachts since the sanctions were announced, describing them as “humble, normal people” having a difficult time. He did not say whether the people were being sanctioned. “At the moment, they are trying to keep the yachts in international waters, where they may be idle for months at a time,” he said. “Then no one can touch them.” He declined to name customers, citing confidentiality. A spokesman for the Maldives customs, which monitors maritime traffic in their waters, did not respond to a request for comment on the number of Russian vessels currently in the area. MINUTE DIPLOMATS While Maldivian institutions will find it difficult to ignore a warning from the US Treasury Department that the failure to seize Russian assets will affect their access to US financial markets, no such message has been sent, said a US . Asked about locations including the Maldives, Andrew Adams, head of a US task force aimed at freezing oligarchs’ assets, told Reuters that Washington viewed co-operation “at a high level” even when the oligarchs were trying to hide. yachts, planes or other movable property in countries believed to be secretive. However, forcing politically unstable and economically limited Maldives to make a tough choice over sanctions could bring them closer to China, two Western diplomats said. A previous government had strengthened relations with Beijing, although relations with the West and its traditional ally India are now improving. “We are aware of the financial risks involved,” one diplomat said of the Maldives if it follows a hard line. (Report by Alasdair Pal and Mohamed Junayd in Male; Additional Report by Sarah Lynch in Washington; Jan Strupczewski in Brussels; and Dasha Afanasieva in London; Edited by Frank Jack Daniel)
