According to The Guardian, Spain has temporarily seized a Russian oligarch’s $140m superyacht in Barcelona. The 85-meter superyacht Valerie belongs to Sergei Chemezov, a former KGB officer who heads state conglomerate Rostec. He is an ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Sailing under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, the vessel is registered to Chemezov’s stepdaughter, Anastasia Ignatova, through a the British Virgin Islands company.
Chemezov was sanctioned by the United States in 2014 and Britain in 2020 over Russia’s annexation of Crimea. The US sanctions also targeted Chemezov’s stepdaughter as well as his wife and son.
“Today we seized – the technical term is provisionally immobilised – a yacht belonging to one of the principal oligarchs,” Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez said on La Sexta television on Monday. “We are talking about a yacht that we estimate is worth $140m.” “There will be more,” he added, without elaborating.
