Seized Russian Superyacht To Be Auctioned, With Proceeds Going To J.P. Morgan

Seizing other people’s assets to enrich our massive investment banks…it’s the American way!

A massive luxury superyacht that was seized as part of the Western sanctions on Russia this year is going to be sold at auction to pay off J.P. Morgan, a new report from Bloomberg said this week. 

The yacht, formerly owned by sanctioned Russian businessman Dmitry Pumpyansky is going to be sold at auction on Tuesday after Pumpyansky reportedly defaulted on a loan that he was given from J.P. Morgan, the report says. 

According to Nigel Hollyer, a broker at auction house Howe Robinson Partners, it’s going to be the first superyacht auctioned since the sanctions took hold, freezing yachts in ports across the world.

The yacht – Axioma – had been seized in Gibraltar in March. It is currently valued at £63 million, though it is expected to fetch less than that at auction. 

Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan won a court order in Gibraltar last month that allowed for the sale of the yacht on account of Pumpyansky not paying off a $20.6 million loan that was tied to the ship. 

The ship has what every fishing vessel absolutely needs, including a swimming pool and a 3D cinema. The auction has “staggering amount of interest,” Hollyer told Bloomberg. He said there were about 115 inquiries into the yahct and more than two dozen inspections of the vessel.