Spain seizes £458m ‘Crescent’ mega-yacht ‘owned by President Putin ally’ Igor Sechin

A superyacht owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch has been detained by Spanish authorities.

The £458m vessel Crescent is claimed to belong to the pinnacle of Russian oil large Rosneft, Igor Sechin.

The 135-metre-long boat was docked within the port of Tarragona, Catalonia, when officers took motion, Spain’s Transport Ministry stated.

In response to the monitoring website Marine Site visitors, the boat arrived in Spain from Italy in November final yr and is registered within the Cayman Islands.

Mr Sechin, an in depth ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was certainly one of many Russian billionaires sanctioned by the European Union on 28 February – together with having all his belongings within the bloc frozen.

The UK adopted swimsuit on 10 March, hitting the oil tycoon with asset freezes and journey bans over his supposed ties to the Kremlin. It was the identical day the UK authorities sanctioned Chelsea FC proprietor Roman Abramovich.

Mr. Sechin is taken into account one of the crucial influential oligarchs, not solely as a result of Rosneft is without doubt one of the world’s largest crude oil producers, however as a result of he reportedly works in collaboration with the Russian state and is in common contact with Putin.

Spain’s determination is the newest in a collection of seizures designed to punish these considered affiliated with the Russian chief, after he launched his lethal invasion of Ukraine final month.