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21 yachts with potential ties to Russian oligarchs have been detained in Finland while authorities determine ownership

Mar 24, 2022, 03:33 IST
Business Insider
Flags of European Union and Finland fly outside the Finnish embassy in Moscow.Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
  • Finland has detained 21 yachts in order to determine whether they are owned by Russians oligarchs.
  • "They're not boats an ordinary citizen would have," the head of Finnish customs told Bloomberg.
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Finland has barred 21 yachts from leaving the country while officials investigate the suspicion that they belong to Russian oligarchs, the head of Finnish customs said this week.

The customs department began telling winter storage facilities of the decision last week, according to Helsingin Sanomat, which first reported the news.

"They're not boats an ordinary citizen would have, but they're not 150 meters long either," Sami Rakshit, head of the enforcement department, told Bloomberg.

"We don't assume that all the detained yachts fall under sanctions, but that is what we are trying to determine now," he added.

Mikko Pellikka, CEO of Yachtcare Finland, told Helsingin Sanomat his company had four yachts in storage at the Port of Loviisa.

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"It's hard to interpret whether the boats are Russian because they are registered around the globe," he said. "We can't say who ultimately owns the boat. Official papers do not necessarily read the names of the persons."

Earlier this month, Finland seized a 32-meter yacht believed to be used by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.

Finland shares a 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia, and the city of St. Petersburg lies on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, which connects to Russia to the Baltic Sea and beyond.

Meanwhile, the UK government has taken steps to prevent "a small number of yachts" from leaving the country over suspected links to oligarchs, and turned away 10 ships tied to Russia, according to transport secretary Grant Shapps.

And in Italy, a 140-meter-long superyacht with reported links to Russian President Vladimir Putin is now under the control of an all-British crew after the Russian crew reportedly disappeared.

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