After the very enthusiastic wave of sanctions and seizures of luxury assets from Russian oligarchs, as a means to discourage Putin’s ongoing war in neighboring country Ukraine, there’s been a lull in figurative waters. Not much has come of said sanctions, it turns out.
Axioma is a 2013 superyacht that was among the first to be seized after sanctions went into effect, and which earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first vessel to sell at auction against the owner’s wishes. Valued at $75 million and owned by known Putin associate Dmitry Pumpyansky, Axioma is in the same place it was months ago, stuck in Gibraltar.
The saga is far from over where this instantly-recognizable, turquoise-hulled vessel is concerned, it seems.
Axioma was seized in March 2022, days after Pumpyansky was included on sanctions lists. That said, it was seized at the behest of the UK, not because of Pumpyansky’s alleged relationship to Putin, but because he had defaulted on a $21.5 million loan from J.P. Morgan, for which he’d used the vessel as collateral. The bank used the sanctions to get authorities’ help in recovering the money.
What followed were several months of back and forths in the court, with the yacht’s management company claiming the seizure was illegal, and J.P. Morgan arguing the contrary (obviously). In September, after a closed auction and 63 bids, Axioma was sold. Details on the identity of the new owner or the price they paid for the boat were never made public, but reports claimed that it was someone from shipyard Dunya Yachts, which built Axioma and which was probably backed by Russian oligarch money, and that the amount was a paltry $37.5 million.
The sale came after weeks of Gibraltar claiming it had to auction off the ship since it couldn’t afford to keep it in dock anymore. It is widely known that maintenance for a vessel runs up to 10% of its value, whether it leaves the marina or not, so the claim made sense: the state was looking at millions in docking fees and maintenance for a ship that they didn’t even seize for their own benefit.
That given, the twist is very unexpected: superyacht vlogger eSysman reports that Axioma is still in Gibraltar and hasn’t moved an inch since. Gibraltar is yet to use the funds for the sale to repay J.P Morgan and cover the taxes with the marina, since the auction was followed by a 60-day period for appeals and possibly further legal action. But the statement that mentioned this aspect said nothing of the vessel having to stay put in the same place during this time.
Whatever the case, it has further sparked speculation on the legality of the auction, and controversy on the larger conversation on the efficacy of sanctions. As well-intended as sanctions might have been, it’s still the rich who keep winning.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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