Germany seizes the biggest superyacht in the world from Russian oligarch's sister

German authorities said they have seized the world’s largest superyacht in Hamburg after determining that it belongs to the sister of Uzbek-born Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.

The Federal Criminal Police Office said that, after ‘extensive investigations’ and despite ‘offshore concealment’, it had been able to determine that the owner is Gulbakhor Ismailova, Mr Usmanov’s sister.

The 512ft-long superyacht Dilbar is flagged in the Cayman Islands and registered to a holding company in Malta – two banking havens where the global ultra-rich often park their wealth.

It was launched in 2016 at a reported cost of more than 648 million dollars (£493 million), and comes complete with an 80ft pool and two helipads, making it the largest superyacht ever build in terms of sheer tonnage.

German police office said German authorities worked in Brussels to ensure that European Union sanctions applied to the owner.

It says the yacht, which is being held at a shipyard in the port of Hamburg, can no longer be sold, rented or loaded.

The United States and the EU last month announced economic sanctions against Mr Usmanov, a metals magnate, over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.

German authorities said they have seized the world’s largest superyacht in Hamburg after determining that it belongs to the sister of Uzbek-born Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov (pictured)

The 512ft-long superyacht Dilbar is flagged in the Cayman Islands and registered to a holding company in Malta – two banking havens where the global ultra-rich often park their wealth (the Dilbar superyacht is pictured at the Blohm & Voss dock in the harbor in Hamburg, Germany)

The vessel was launched in 2016 at a reported cost of more than 648 million dollars (£493 million), and comes complete with an 80ft pool and two helipads, making it the largest superyacht ever build in terms of sheer tonnage

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with Russian businessman and founder of USM Holdings Alisher Usmanov during an awarding ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia November 27, 2018

Usmanov was slapped with EU sanctions just four days after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while the UK and US followed suit on March 3.

According to a German Federal Criminal Police report cited by the EU, ownership of the Dilbar superyacht was traced back to Ismailova after a painstaking investigation unravelled a complex paper trail.

Dilbar is registered to Navis Marine Ltd based in the Cayman islands, but that company is owned by Almenor Holdings Ltd – a holding company based in Cyprus.

Almenor is controlled by a Swiss company, Pomerol Capital SA, which holds the shares ‘in trust for the benefit of’ the Sister Trust, which the investigation ultimately determined is held by Ismailova.

A spokesperson for Usmanov said in March that many of the billionaire’s assets, including the Dilbar and most of his properties in Britain, had been transferred into trusts to benefit his family prior to the sanctions being imposed.

‘From that point on, Mr Usmanov did not own them, nor was he able to manage them or deal with their sale, but could only use them on a rental basis, the spokesman said.

‘Mr Usmanov withdrew from the beneficiaries of the trusts, donating his beneficial rights to his family,’ he added.

However, it appears the EU is now extending the reach of its sanctions to the family members of oligarchs targeted in the initial round of measures.

The former Arsenal FC stakeholder Usmanov is also linked to a 16th Century Surrey estate – Sutton Place (pictured) – thought to be worth as much as £34million

The Russian businessman who is believed to be worth nearly £15 billion, is thought to own at least six properties in the UK, including a stunning 19th Century London mansion worth £48million (pictured: Beechwood House in Hampstead)

Confirmation of the yacht’s impoundment in Germany comes as French authorities completed the seizure of £20billion worth of assets of several Russian oligarchs, including Roman Abramovich’s luxury villa in the south of France which once belonged to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Château de la Croë is situated on one of the most prestigious parts of the French Riviera – the Cap d’Antibes – and local estate agents estimate it is worth around £90million.

Constructed in 1926, the elegant villa comes complete with over a dozen bedrooms, eight bathrooms and is set in 12 acres of lush woodland and lavish lawns just metres from the Mediterranean sea.

Abramovich spent some £30million restoring the Château after he bought it in 2001, building a 15 metre swimming pool on the roof and inserting a huge gym and home cinema in the basement to create the ultimate billionaire’s play pad.

But before one of Putin’s favourite money-men moved in, the incredible property was used as a holiday home by the former King of England Edward VIII and American socialite Wallis Simpson – better known as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

Château de la Croë is situated on one of the most prestigious parts of the French Riviera – the Cap d’Antibes – and local estate agents estimate it is worth around £90million

The chateau is one of 12 properties belonging to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich which have been seized by French authorities

The pair became owners of the Château de la Croë in 1938 after King Edward VIII abdicated the throne.

The villa became one of the couple’s favourite retreats and was also used on several occasions to host highly esteemed guests.

Winston Churchill, the famous Prime Minister who successfully led Britain to victory through the Second World War, celebrated his 40th wedding anniversary with the Duke and Duchess in the villa in 1948 before the Château was sold two years later.

The villa’s seizure by French authorities came as part of an enormous operation which has seen more than £20billion worth of cash, properties and other assets belonging to Russian oligarchs confiscated or frozen in recent weeks, France’s Economy and Finance Ministry confirmed yesterday.

A ministry source said the villa was among 12 properties belonging to the former Chelsea Football Club owner which were seized, most of which were bought using specially created French companies.

The son of an Uzbek state prosecutor who was once jailed for fraud before rising to become one of Russia’s richest oligarchs: Who is Alisher Usmanov?

Born in 1953 in the then Soviet-controlled Uzbek city of Churst, a relatively small settlement of around 70,000, nestled in the Fergana Valley to the north east of the country, Usmanov spent much of his childhood in the capital of Tashkent.

Usmanov, whose father was a state prosecutor, initially pursued a career as a diplomat and moved to Moscow, where he studied International Law.

He returned to Tashkent in 1980 and was later arrested and convicted on charges of fraud and ‘theft of socialist property’. He was imprisoned for six years of an eight-year sentence and his conviction was later vacated and ruled ‘unjust’ by the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

But even prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Usmanov was on the road to success. He had become a millionaire after setting up a privately-owned for-profit company, which produced plastic bags. He became even richer after the collapse of the USSR.

He began getting involved in politics when he became the Adviser to the General Director of Moscow Aviation Industrial Enterprise. Towards the end of the 1990s Usmanov was the General Director of Gazprom Invest Holdings, the investment-holding subsidiary of Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom. He managed the firm for a decade before leaving in 2014.

His main income is in USM. Usmanov has a 49 per cent economic interest and 100 per cent voting rights in USM, a global conglomerate with its main investments in metals and mining industry, telecommunications, technology, and media.

He is also the co-owner of, Metalloinvest, which he founded along with business partner Vasiliy Anisimov, in order to manage his acquisitions in the metal industry. Usmanov also has assets in Australia-based mining companies.

He also is the co-owner of Russia’s second-largest mobile telephone operator, MegaFon, and previously held shares in Arsenal FC. He and his business partner Farhad Moshiri bought the stake in the club owned by former Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein for £75 million.

In January 2017, Usmanov’s holding company, USM, entered into a five-year, £12million deal with Everton FC, which is majority owned by Moshiri, for the naming rights of the club’s training ground.

In 2019 Megafon became the sleeve sponsor for the men’s training wear of and its official matchday presenting partner.

Usmanov has no biological children. He has a stepson with his wife Irina Viner. His step-son ia a real-estate investor, currently constructing 30 real estate projects.

Alongside business interest, Usmanov owns an extensive list of properties, including Beechwood House in London and Sutton Place in Surrey, valued at a combined $280 million. He also has luxury homes in Munich, Lausanne, Monaco and Sardinia.

The EU, in sanctioning Usmanov, described the 68-year-old as a ‘pro-Kremlin oligarch with particularly close ties to [the] Russian president’.

Usmanov meanwhile has says his sanctioning by the EU is ‘unfair’ and that the reasons to justify the sanctions are ‘false and defamatory’.

He has previously welcomed links with Putin, telling Forbes in 2010: ‘I am proud that I know Putin, and the fact that everybody does not like him is not Putin’s problem.

‘I don’t think the world loved Truman after Nagasaki.’

source: dailymail.co.uk