When Russia invaded Ukraine in February there were quite a few of these Russian executives, these billionaires, who own these yachts. They were under sanctions and those boats took to the water and started going all over the place to avoid being seized. Some of them ended up off the coast of Turkey which has not enforced sanctions. There on last account maybe at least half a dozen if not more sanctioned Russian super yachts in Turkey that are holed up there safe,. Not frozen by Western governments. Others attempted to leave ports in Europe and were stopped because Western governments believed they were owned by sanctioned Russians.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the US and other Western nations have imposed economic sanctions on scores of Russian billionaires close to President Vladimir Putin. They’ve also gone after their assets–including the enormous yachts prized by billionaires the world over.
But now comes the question: What will happen to them? Investigative Reporter Stephanie Baker joins this episode from London to share her reporting on big boats in legal limbo.
Learn more about this story here: https://bloom.bg/3TbFfzQ
Listen to The Big Take podcast every weekday and subscribe to our daily newsletter: https://bloom.bg/3F3EJAK
Have questions or comments for Wes and the team? Reach us at bigtake@bloomberg.net.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.