Russian billionaires' assets — including their megayachts — are in danger of being seized as countries continue to impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden announced that the US will make a substantial effort to seize Russian oligarchs' assets.
"We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets," Biden said in his State of The Union address on March 1. "We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."
Since the US is not in "armed conflict" with Russia it may be legally tricky to seize assets like yachts, Insider reported.
"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, tweeted last Friday. "The idea of turning Russian corruption into Ukrainian assistance is lovely but this idea is illegal, period."
It can also be difficult to find these yachts and their owners.
Offshore companies typically own the luxury vessels, but enough "public speculation" pointing to a Russian oligarch as an owner is likely "sufficient for a seizure," Insider reported.
Many of the oligarchs moved their yachts to places where they can't be seized, such as the Maldives, which does not have an extradition treaty with the US.
Insider has compiled a list of photos with mega yachts linked to Russian oligarchs.