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France seized two superyachts worth $100 million in total from a Russian oligarch, AFP reported.
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Alexei Kuzmichev’s $22 million vessel was seized on Monday, and his $76 million ship on Wednesday.
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The EU, which sanctioned Kuzmichev last week, said he had “well-established ties” to President Putin.
Two superyachts worth nearly a total of $100 million, which are owned by a Russian oligarch, were recently seized by French authorities, Agence France-Presse reported.
Alexei Kuzmichev, 59, was a cofounder of Alfa-Bank, the largest private bank in Russia, and has a net worth of about $6.2 billion, according to Forbes.
Kuzmichev’s 17-meter yacht, “Little Bear I,” worth $22 million, was impounded on March 16 in Cannes, a city on the southeast coast of France, a government source told AFP on Wednesday.
The Russian banker’s other vessel, “Little Bear II,” worth $76 million, was confiscated on Monday in Antibes, a coastal town near Cannes, the government source told AFP.
The French government, the port of Cannes, and the port of Antibes didn’t immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment made outside of normal working hours.
The EU placed Kuzmichev on its sanctions list on March 15, meaning his assets were frozen and he was banned from traveling to or doing business with union member countries.
In a report announcing its sanctions, the EU said Kuzmichev had “well-established ties” to Russian President Vladimir Putin and was “one of the most influential persons in Russia.”
Kuzmichev, who stepped down from the $22 billion investment firm LetterOne in early March, isn’t the first Russian oligarch to have his yachts seized by France.
A $120 million yacht belonging to Igor Sechin, CEO of Russian state-controlled oil giant Rosneft, was seized by French authorities on March 3. Sechin, who was sanctioned by the EU and the US, told the yacht’s captain to leave the French port and sail to Turkey as quickly as possible.
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