The oligarchs are trying to save their property.
As in Europe, the property of Russian oligarchs began to be arrested, at least five super-yachts owned by billionaires found temporary refuge in the Maldives. The island nation in the Indian Ocean does not have an extradition treaty with the United States amassed wealth and political influence under Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Thursday, the United States imposed full blocking sanctions on eight additional oligarchs and officials, as well as some of their companies and family members, in connection with the invasion of Ukraine.< /p>
«We want him (Putin) to feel the pressure, we want the people around him to feel the pressure», — White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.
French customs officials detained the 88-meter yacht of the head of «Rosneft» Igor Sechin's Amore Vero, who is on US and EU sanctions lists, before she tried to leave the port of the French Riviera.
In Germany, the almost $600 million, 150-meter long luxury yacht Dilbar, owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, also on the EU sanctions list, is at a shipyard in Hamburg. A spokesman for the Hamburg Economic Authority said he had no plans to hand over the yacht to its owner, without giving details.
Maldives sanctuary
Meanwhile, at least five luxury yachts owned by Russian billionaires have found temporary refuge in the Maldives.
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The Clio superyacht, owned by Oleg Deripaska, founder of aluminum giant Rusal, which was hit by US sanctions in 2018, anchored off the capital Male on Wednesday, according to the MarineTraffic shipping database.
Titan of the Russian steel manufacturer «Evraz» arrived on Monday.
Data showed that three more yachts owned by Russian oligarchs were spotted in the waters of the Maldives on Wednesday. These included the 88-meter Nirvana, owned by Russia's richest man, Vladimir Potanin.
Most of the ships were last seen anchored in Middle Eastern ports.