A luxury yacht broker is advertising for sale a 168ft superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Igor Kesaev for around £27million.
The proposed sale of the MySky yacht comes amid concerns from Western governments and campaigners that billionaires like Kesaev have been able to work around a patchwork of international sanctions targeting their luxury assets such as yachts.
The EU and UK sanctioned Kesaev in April in the wake of Russia 's invasion of Ukraine.
His involvement in military weapons production and tobacco distribution in Russia was cited, as well as links to the Kremlin "and its security forces”.
Sara Gioanola, a spokesperson for Heesen Yachts, the Netherlands-based firm that built MySky, confirmed that Kesaev commissioned it and another yacht, called Sky.
It is not clear if Kesaev still has direct ownership in the MySky.
An article about Kesaev's daughter and her art gallery in the spring 2021 edition of Heesen's magazine noted that "the Kesaev family is well known to Heesen, having commissioned Sky and MySky over the past decade”.
An advertisement was sent from an email address at Fort Lauderdale, Florida firm Merle Wood & Associates, which calls itself "one of the premier yacht brokerage firms worldwide”.
It was circulated privately with a warning not to post the advertisement publicly.
The yacht named MySky features "ultra-modern sophisticated interiors" by a well-known Dutch architect, an "indoor climate controlled gymnasium" and a deck that can be used for landing helicopters, according to the advertisement.
Clara Portela, a sanctions expert at the University of Valencia, said that because there are no US sanctions on Kesaev, American businesses or buyers could be involved in the yacht sale without running afoul of sanctions.
The Merle Wood advert said that the yacht was in the Maldives.
The vessel was photographed in waters off the Indian Ocean island republic in early March, in the days after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Yachts linked to sanctioned Russians have appeared in destinations such as the Maldives and Turkey in recent months as authorities in the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom levied sanctions and sought to seize such assets.
A spokesperson for the European Commission, which handles EU sanctions, said European leaders are encouraging other countries to align their policies with the EU, but said sanctions apply only within the EU's jurisdiction.
A spokesperson for the UK's Treasury said it does not comment on individual cases but "takes enforcement action in every reported case of suspected financial sanctions breach”.
Roland Papp, who tracks illicit financial flows at Transparency International EU, said the often-secretive nature of sales involving superyachts means that it's highly unlikely authorities would ever learn about such transactions.
"It's very easy to try to avoid sanctions in this way," he said.
