The Dilbar was seized by Germany. Credit: Alberto-g-rovi , CC BY 3.0/WikipediaOn Wednesday, Germany seized the world’s largest superyacht after “extensive investigations” determined that it is owned by the sister of the sanctioned Russian oligarch, Alisher Usmanov.
Germany’s federal crime office (BKA) said that despite efforts at what it called “offshore concealment,” it had determined that the yacht’s owner is Usmanov’s sister, Gulbakhor Ismailova, who is also sanctioned.
“The luxury yacht Dilbar is therefore subject to sanctions law and was able to be legally impounded in Hamburg,” the BKA said in a tweet. News agency DPA quoted a BKA spokesman as saying that the yacht cannot be “sold, rented or pledged as collateral.”
The 156-meter (512 foot) yacht had been undergoing refitting in Hamburg. The vessel is flagged in the Cayman Islands and registered to a holding company in Malta—both tax havens favored by the global ultra-rich to park their wealth.
Usmanov owns a major stake in USM, a Russian investment group with holdings in Metalloinvest, one of the world’s largest iron ore producers, and telecommunications company, MegaFon.
