Fleeing sanctions, Russian oligarchs seek safe ports for superyachts

So when the USA invaded Iraq, was the private property of American billionaires seized?

I know this can make people feel good, the “do something!” groups, but what right do countries have to do this?

Can just take someone’s stuff, then what? Keep it forever? Sell it and keep the money for yourself?

“Ill begotten gains!” sounds good but what if they legitimately made the money?

@Blacklabel

If they don't like it, they can take out Putin. Problem solved for everybody.

Yeah as I thought….

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-seize-yachts-sanctions-putin-russian-oligarchs-legal-practical-problems-2022-3

US efforts to confiscate these assets could raise questions of legality. "The threshold for seizing assets under sanctions is that the US has to be in armed conflict with the owner of the assets," Brian O'Toole, an economic sanctions expert at the Atlantic Council, wrote on Twitter. "The idea of turning Russian corruption into Ukrainian assistance is lovely but this idea is illegal, period."

Russian billionaires have had decades to shield their money and assets in the West from governments that might try to tax or seize them.*

They are in solidarity with oligarchs East and West; case in point the Panama and Pandora Papers.

The Russian oligarchs are in the sights of authorities now, keep up that head of steam and go after the oligarchs closer to home.

In Russia and the US 70 percent or more of the populations live paycheck to paycheck while oligarchs engage in yacht measuring competitions.

It is a big part of many of the ills of the world we see today, from war to the rise of authoritarianism.

Pefectly welcome to come to my local port. May have to avoid moby-dick on the way. We regularly have russian ships and I have heard nothing about them being stopped.

OK. They have siezed and imponded a few superyachts.

Maybe they will nab a few more.

Then what?

Auction them off?

Keep them moored till the fees rack up?

Yachts the end game here?

Russia has already declared the sanctions amount to a declaration of war. Sooner or later Russia will attack the west, most likely when he has subdued Ukraine enough. May as well agree with Putin and send in NATO and the rest of the world now since that is Putin's call, while Russia controls the least amount of Europe. Do not wait until it has grabbed more like Hitler did.

Rich Russians cant outrun the sanctions. They are in force and any cash they raise, any swaps they do, all will be taken from them and used to pay damages to Ukraine.

Nowhere to sail, nowhere to hide. And Russian oligarchs, robber barons of the most corrupt crony capitalism, crying "it's unfair " is rich indeed! Cry me an ocean!

Peter14

Russia has already declared the sanctions amount to a declaration of war. Sooner or later Russia will attack the west, most likely when he has subdued Ukraine enough.

Putin is incapable of attacking the west.

Unless you are talking about nukes and at that stage it is suicide.

Its worth mentioning that even if they bring their yachts to Russia, they effectively become yachts that can only be used in Russia, which kind of defeats the purpose of having them in the first place.

a World War I dreadnaught

It was the HMS Dreadnought.

So when the USA invaded Iraq, was the private property of American billionaires seized? 

No.

What set of deranged, unbalanced events, bought the Global Community to Europe blood-soaked ground zero?

President Putin had nothing to gain from a Ukraine reduced to rubble.

Putin had an overwhelming global profitable energy business with 15 of the EU 27 with close to 51% of there oil and natural gas dependence at his feet.

With the up and coming NORD stream 2.

Putin invaded, for no reason, either diplomatically, economically politically

"Ukraine" could have simply been diplomatically settled without a shot fired

The compromise would be small potatoes to the mayhem and death witnessed on the global news feeds.

Harry_GattoToday  06:31 pm JST

a World War I dreadnaught

It was the HMS Dreadnought.

The Dreadnought aka Dreadnaught was not only the HMS Dreadnought you mention, but also the name of a class of battleships built on similar lines to her.

Putin still has a chance to bring this all to a close.

Turn the tanks etc around.

Putin has foolishly, recklessly turned crisis into a cataclysm, for the Russian Government and people

Not a sailor but “board ‘em and commandeer ‘em”? What’s the maritime and/or wartime precedent?

“Put some guns and missile systems on them and sail a flotilla into the Black Sea.”

This reads like The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). And just last week, someone was asking why Putin had such a long table for entertaining “guests”:

*- “Dennis Cauiser, a superyacht analyst with VesselsFinder, said oligarch boats often include secret security measures worthy of a Bond villain, including underwater escape hatches, bulletproof windows and armored panic rooms.” -*

Seems all these oligarchs are missing are one simple request: “sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their heads”.

- “Eclipse also boasts its own helicopter hanger and an undersea bay that reportedly holds a mini-sub.” -

I wrote this elsewhere, but here is more relevant.

confiscate as many assets of as many oligarchs as possible.

Then tell these oligarchs that their assets will be returned, in exchange for them handing Putin over.

If they don't like it, they can take out Putin. Problem solved for everybody.

Why didn't you make the same statement when GB invaded Iraq and inflicted deaths and carnage on Iraqis.

Why didn't you make the same statement when GB invaded Iraq and inflicted deaths and carnage on Iraqis.

I know I’m not the person that was intended for, but I was saying similar at the time. Before that invasion when I was asked if I thought Bush would go into Iraq I answered “of course”. Anybody who had been paying attention at the time should have known the wmd thing was garbage. People blaming the msm for that need to ask themselves why they were so easily blinded. Bush wanted Iraq finished. That was clear at the time and wmds or no, he was going in. Regardless, that has no bearing on the fact that Putin has illegally invaded Ukraine. Just stop with that already.

don't worry Boris has a six pack plan.. sorry a six point plan