On Tuesday, the government of Gibraltar will auction the yacht Axioma, according to The Guardian. The £65 million (about $77 million) vessel will be the first of the Russian oligarchs' superyachts to be auctioned off.
The owner of the yacht is Dmitry Pumpyansky, the owner of a fortune estimated at $2.2 billion. Pumpyansky is considered one of the closest oligarchs to Vladimir Putin, so after February 24 he was subject to sanctions from the UK, the EU and the US.
The 72.5-meter vessel, which has six luxurious guest cabins, a swimming pool, 3D cinema, gym, jacuzzi and fully equipped spa, was detained in Gibraltar in March. So far, Axioma is the only one of dozens of superyachts sanctioned by Russian oligarchs that has not just been confiscated, but put up for sale.
However, the proceeds from its sale will not be transferred in favor of Ukrainian refugees. The yacht was delayed following a lawsuit by US investment bank JP Morgan alleging that Pumpyansky's holding company owed it more than $20 million. Due to the imposed sanctions, JP Morgan could not accept payments from Pyrene, due to which the terms of the loan were violated, and asked the Gibraltar court to detain and sell the yacht.
It is not yet known how much the ship will be sold for, but the auction representatives report an unexpected surge of interest from potential buyers: more than 30 people flew to Gibraltar to personally inspect the yacht. These are people from different parts of the world who own or have owned ships of the same class. The auction interests them as a way to buy a yacht at a bargain price.
Pumpyansky's yacht, designed by renowned designer Alberto Pinto, was built by the Turkish company Dunya Yachts in 2013 and was originally called Red Square. The vessel could be rented for $558,500 per week.