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A Gibraltar court announced Tuesday that a luxury superyacht linked to a Russian billionaire now under EU and British sanctions has sold for $37.5 million at auction last month.
The 237.8-foot (72.5 m) long ship Axioma, owned by oligarch Dmitry Pumpyansky, docked in Gibraltar on March 21 and was subsequently filed by US creditor JP Morgan. Detained by authorities following complaint.
A bank in the United States said OAO TMK, a steel pipe manufacturing company owned by the alleged owner of the yacht, Papujanski, breached the terms of a €20.5 million ($21.7 million) loan.
The Admiralty Marshal of Gibraltar, the British Overseas Territories branch dealing with the sale of ships, said an unidentified buyer had been selected.
The sale proceeds of $37,500,055 will be used to settle the vessel’s debts to its creditors, and any additional claims must be brought forward within the next 60 days, the statement said. The court will then decide what to do with the surplus funds, he added.
Since 1998, 58-year-old Pampjanski was the owner and chairman of a steel pipe manufacturing company that supplies Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom until March.
The Russian oligarch’s net worth was estimated at $2.44 billion before the sale of the yacht. He was sanctioned by his EU and UK shortly after Russia attacked Ukraine.
Since the war in Ukraine began, Russian-related yachts have been stranded in several countries, including Italy, Spain and Germany.
Failure to meet loan terms
JP Morgan said it lent €20.5 million ($21.7 million) to Pyrenees Investments, a British Virgin Islands-listed company owned by Ferdberg Holding, according to court documents seen by Reuters. .
Pyrene Investments breached the terms of the loan after Pumpyansky sold Furdberg shares to a third party on March 4, and was subsequently sanctioned and prevented from repaying the loan, according to the documents.
JP Morgan then asked the Gibraltar government to seize a superyacht, a recreational vessel classified as over 100 feet in length, and use it as collateral for a loan, the newspaper said.
Maltese Axioma, with its swimming pool, spa and 3D cinema, attracted 63 bids and went up for auction at a price higher than expected.
James Jaffa, a lawyer for Jaffa & Co, a British yachts firm, said there could be maintenance gaps in the network at the time of the auction, so the ship would be offered at a lower price than JP Morgan’s loan. He said he expects it to be sold. Uncertainty about whether Pumpyansky will eventually try to get it back.
Jaffa also said the remaining money could be claimed by the ship’s previous owner.
Reuters contributed to this report.
From NTD news
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