Sanctioned oligarch Alisher Usmanov’s yacht has disappeared from Croatia – Robb Report
The oligarch’s yacht, which was kept under sanctions by the authorities, “disappeared” from the marina on the Adriatic island of Murter, reports a Croatian newspaper. In a bizarre twist, authorities also discovered that the yacht had been missing for three months, according to 24ur.comwhich was replaced by an almost identical vessel at the moment of departure from the marina.
The 115-foot Sunseeker, named Irina VU, is owned by Alisher Usmanov, a sanctioned oligarch and friend of Putin from Uzbekistan. It was seized and left in dry dock at the marina as part of the sanctions process. AIS locator data shows that the yacht is currently in Didim, Turkey. Turkey has become a haven for many oligarchs since it has so far refused to hand over yachts and private planes.
“We are still determining the circumstances of the yacht’s disappearance,” said Croatian Transport Minister Oleg Butković. “We all know that he disappeared under still unexplained circumstances. We will now determine how this happened and whether there was a failure in the system.”
Butkovic said that the Croatian intelligence service and the federal prosecutor’s office are now investigating the strange disappearance. Substitute Sunseeker, according to the story in SibenikIt’s called Katerina and was brought to the marina to replace the generator.
Officials overseeing the investigation said there was no security at the marina and standard protocols were not followed, including no signs or barriers to indicate it was a sanctioned yacht.
Ukrainian officials immediately pointed fingers at each other. “Irina VU left Croatia at the Dubrovnik sea crossing without being stopped by the police and customs,” said an official of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, which was responsible for the seizure and surveillance of the yacht.
Usmanov, who became a billionaire with a large stake in USM, the holding company that controls Russian iron ore production, may have won the battle with Irina VUbut he potentially lost a much bigger trophy when the German authorities confiscated Dilbar in April. That 512-foot superyacht it is the largest in the world by volume.