Monaco has opened the door to seizing assets owned by Russian oligarchs who are subject to EU sanctions. It is possible that their luxury yachts, which dock in the port of Hercules, will be confiscated. – Confiscation is possible, although it has not yet happened – said Pierre Dartout, Minister of State of Monaco, in an interview with EFE.
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Last week Monaco has announced that it is joining EU sanctions imposed on around 500 oligarchs for their ties with the Russian authorities, led by President Vladimir Putin. – We do not belong to the European Union, but we belong to the euro area. That is why we immediately applied the Community guidelines, said Pierre Dartout, Minister of State of Monaco, in an interview with EFE.
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As he recalled, such situations had happened before. “This is not the first time we’ve frozen funds, we’ve done it in cases of terrorism and money laundering,” noted Dartout.
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However, he did not provide details on the number and identity of the Russian oligarchs in Monaco affected by the sanctions. In a 38 thousand. About 800 Russians live in the country. Their number has tripled since 2008.
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Monaco, port of HerculesPAP/EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER
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Luxury yachts in Monaco
Yachts belonging to the sanctioned Russians may be seized as part of a reaction to the Russian attack on Ukraine. Luxury boats dock at the port of Hercules in Monaco. “Confiscation is perfectly possible, although it has not yet happened,” said Pierre Dartout. He estimated that “slightly less than a dozen” luxury yachts may be occupied.
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Last week, the authorities in Monaco detained, as a preventive measure, one of the yachts to be owned by Russian millionaire Sergei Galitsky, owner of the Russian football club Krasnodar.
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Monaco, port of HerculesEPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER
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Earlier, neighboring France announced that it was scouring Russian-owned financial assets included in the sanctions lists related to the war in Ukraine, including real estate, yachts and luxury cars. “We have the legal means to seize all these assets,” announced the French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.
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A few days ago, France stopped a luxury yacht belonging to the Russian oligarch Igor Sechin. The 88-meter yacht Amore Vero was seized when the vessel wanted to leave the port of La Ciotat on the Cote d’Azur – the Ministry of Finance informed in a press release.
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photo-source">Main photo source: EPA/SEBASTIEN NOGIER
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