One of Vladimir Putin’s richest and most well-connected cronies’ enormous yachts has been sighted in Hong Kong.
The 142-meter-long Nord, which cost its owner, steel mogul Alexey Mordashov, some £500 million, departed the Russian port of Vladivostok on Wednesday.
Since the beginning of this year, Mordashov has lost almost £10 billion as a result of western sanctions aimed at him and his commercial ventures.
He is still one of Russia’s wealthiest men, with a net worth of almost £14 billion.
The average pay in his country is £1,600, which is over nine million times that amount.
Every single day, Nord, which has a staff of 40 uniformed men and women and space for 20 passengers, costs an astounding £200,000 to operate. It weighs slightly about 10,000 tons in gross weight.
The opulent German-built ship includes a heliport and an interior that was specifically created by the Italian company Nuvolari-Lenard.
According to CNN, Severstal, a state-backed steel company with 54,000 workers in 69 countries, is owned by and chaired by Mordashov.
In March, Britain placed sanctions on him; in June, Washington imposed further financial sanctions.
Grant Shapps, the transport minister, said this when the first wave of sanctions was announced more than six months ago: “Putin’s cronies aren’t welcome [in the UK] or in any of our foreign territories, either.”
According to a spokeswoman for Mordashov, he is still in Moscow and refutes claims that he is the most recent successful Russian businessman to leave the nation.
Since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, yachts worth a combined $2 billion have been confiscated by the US and European nations.
Recently christened Killer Whale, Putin’s personal £100 million superyacht was sighted a few days ago off the Estonian coast.
When the conflict started, the superyacht made a hurried escape from Germany for the Russian exclave just as Western nations were preparing to go on a property-seizure rampage if Putin invaded Ukraine.
The superyacht may have departed before repairs were even done, according to reports from the German daily Bild.
They cited Liz Truss, the UK’s foreign secretary, who had warned Putin and his friends that if Russia attacked Kyiv, they would “have nowhere to hide.”
has gorgeous, well decorated rooms, a spiral staircase, and a pool. The £73.2 million pleasure vessel was initially constructed by Sevmash in Russia; H2 Yacht Design designed the interior and appearance.
The interiors include shiny, slick surfaces, plush-cushioned couches and deck chairs, and a luxurious bathroom with white marble accents.
There are several book shelves and a desk fronted by a gorgeous artwork of a sailing boat in what looks to be an office space.
On the terrace, which is equipped with lounge-style couches and barstools, you can also see exercise equipment.
Putin’s biggest superyacht, the opulent Scheherazade, valued at £500 million and measuring 460 feet long, was seized in Italy in May. She was purportedly delivered as a Christmas present by a group of adoring billionaires in 2014.