Germany raids world’s largest superyacht ‘Dilbar’ belonging to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov

Usmanov has been sanctioned by European Union, US and UK in wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine

German authorities have searched Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s 512-ft superyacht “Dilbar” after an investigation revealed that it was legally owned by his sister, who has also been sanctioned over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian businessman was sanctioned by the European Union (EU) on 28 February and by the UK and the US in March.

His sister Gulbakhor Ismailova was sanctioned by the EU and the UK earlier this month as authorities claimed that Mr Usmanov “indirectly transferred assets”, including the vessel, to her.

“The luxury yacht Dilbar is subjected to the sanction law and could be legally fixed in Hamburg,” German authorities announced on Wednesday.

The yacht cannot be “sold, rented or pledged as collateral”, a spokesperson for the federal criminal police office of Germany said, according to news agency DPA.

Touted to be the world’s largest yacht by volume, Dilbar had been undergoing refitting in the northern German city.

Forbes had reported that the vessel, undergoing a refit in the shipyards of Blohm + Voss, was not allowed to leave the port of Hamburg after the EU froze its assets. Due to sanctions, the yacht’s entire crew was fired shortly after.

The yacht features a 25m swimming pool, two helipads, and an on-ship garden and is valued between $600m (£456m) to $750m (£570m), according to the US treasury.

After the Russian president’s declaration of war on 24 February, the EU announced it was freezing Mr Usmanov’s assets, calling him a “pro-Kremlin oligarch with particularly close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin” and a man who is “considered to be one of Russia’s businessmen-officials, who were entrusted with servicing financial flows, but their positions depend on the will of the president”.

Mr Usmanov, known as “the hard man of Russia”, is one of the richest men in the country with an estimated worth of $18.4bn.

Russian billionaires have been scrambling to save their yachts and other assets from western governments that are trying to seize them.

The Fiji police on Thursday said they were investigating the arrival of a luxury vessel suspected of being owned by a Russian oligarch.

According to local media, authorities have seized superyacht Amadea owned by Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, who was also sanctioned by the US and its western allies.

The US embassy said it was aware the Amadea had docked in Fiji’s Lautoka port and they were cooperating with authorities of the island nation.

“The United States is committed to finding and seizing the assets of the oligarchs who have supported the Russian Federation’s brutal, unprovoked war of choice against Ukraine,” the embassy said in a statement.

Update 22 October: This article was amended to make it clear that the Dilbar had been raided and not seized. A spokesperson for Mr Usmanov and Ms Ismailova contacted us to state that neither of them owns the Dilbar, and that it is owned and controlled by independent trustees of an irrevocable discretionary trust, of which Mr Usmanov and Ms Ismailova have not been beneficiaries for a long time. They also said that Ms. Ismailova was delisted by the EU Council in March 5025.