A yacht linked to the owner of Russia’s largest steel pipe maker has been detained by authorities after docking in Gibraltar.
Dmitrievich Pumpyansky, owner of steel group TMK, is under British and European sanctions as the West has slapped sanctions on Russian oligarchs over Moscow’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, according to Reuters.
The boat involved is known as the “Axioma,” a 72-meter vessel owned by Pyrene Investments. Although that company is a British Virgin Islands holding company, Pumpyansky was named in the Panama Papers as a beneficiary of the holding, the news service said.
Gibraltar authorities said the ship was “confirmed as the subject of an arrest operation by a leading international bank in the Gibraltar High Court,” Reuters reported.
“The ship is now being detained by the Admiralty Marshal until further notice,” the government statement said. Reuters added that according to Refinitiv shipping data, the ship left Antigua on February 27 and sailed for three weeks before arriving in Gibraltar.
The sanctions against certain Russian individuals and entities have prompted many luxury yachts to leave Europe and head for the Maldives, which does not have an extradition treaty with the US
In addition to sanctions against Russian companies and oligarchs, the US has halted Russian oil imports and sent out military aid packages amid the deadly invasion of Moscow.
Since the attacks began on February 24, about 10 million Ukrainians have been displaced from their homes, either within the country or as refugees abroad.