Spain says it seized a $153 million super-yacht linked to Russian oligarch Sergei Chemezov, an arms tycoon who worked with Putin as a KGB spy

• Spain said it seized a $153 million super-yacht owned by a prominent Russian oligarch.
• Reuters named the oligarch as Sergei Chemezov, CEO of Russian state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec.

Spain said it seized a $153 million super-yacht that was later linked to Russian oligarch Sergei Chemezov, CEO of Russian state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin.

"Today we have temporarily immobilized a yacht of one of Russia's most prominent oligarchs, and there will be more to come," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told the LaSexta television channel in an inteview, according to the Associated Press.

Sanchez didn't name the owner of the yacht, Valerie. However, Reuters, citing two sources, reported that it belonged to Chemezov, who once worked with Putin as a KGB spy.

The 85-meter (279-foot) Valerie was sailing under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and is registered to Chemezov's stepdaughter, Anastasia Ignatova, through a British Virgin Islands company, according to a 2021 report on the Pandora Papers leak.

Valerie has been in Barcelona since February 9, according to Marine Traffic, which tracks ship movements globally.

The yacht will be detained while Spanish authorities confirm its ownership and check if it falls under Western sanctions, Reuters reported, citing a government source.

Chemezov did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, which was sent via Rostec.

Chemezov said last week that Russia would emerge victorious from Western sanctions. "If you glance at Russia's history, almost all of that history Russia has battled with different sanctions, with enemies which encircled her, and she always came out as the victor," he told Rostec staff, according to Reuters.

Chemezov was sanctioned by the US and the EU in 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea, and by the UK in 2020. He was named in US sanctions in March 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine. The most recent US sanctions also target Chemezov's wife, son, and stepdaughter.

Russian oligarchs have been a focus of Western sanctions since Russia invaded Ukraine. Last week, President Joe Biden said in his State of the Union address that the US would seize luxury assets from Russian oligarchs, including yachts, apartments, and private jets.

In recent weeks, big yachts belonging to Russian billionaires have been seized by France and Italy.

Some oligarchs appear to be trying to evade sanctions by sending their yachts and jets to places like Dubai and the Maldives, which do not have extradition treaties with the US.