A Russian oligarch's seized $75 million superyacht will be first up for auction, report says

• Dmitry Pumpyansky's seized superyacht will be auctioned following a Gibraltar supreme court order.
• The Axioma, worth $75 million, was held in March after it took a risky detour to Gibraltar.

A superyacht belonging to Russian tycoon Dmitry Pumpyansky will be the first seized. vessel to be auctioned following an order from Gibraltar's supreme court.

ESysman SuperYachts, a YouTube channel that reports on seizure of oligarchs' vessels, said in a video that the court had ordered the 240ft Axioma to be sold.

In most cases, authorities cannot sell a seized superyacht without going through legal battles, saddling them with running and maintenance costs that can amount to between 10% and 15% of the vessel's value a year.

JPMorgan was involved in the seizure of the vessel in March after Pumpyansky became subject to western sanctions.

Although the $75 million superyacht is owned by the Russian billionaire, it is run by an management company called Pyrene Investments, according to eSysman Superyachts.

JPMorgan had lent $22 million to Pyrene Investments and Pumpyansky's inclusion on the sanctions list meant that the loan agreement was breached, according to Luxury Launches.

Pumpyanksy made his fortune in the oil and gas industry. He joined forces with Sergei Popov and Andrei Melnichenko to acquire pipe conglomerate TMK before buying them out in 2006. TMK has supplied Russia's state-owned gas company Gazprom since 1998.

Assets linked to Russian oligarchs have been seized, detained or frozen amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February. Properties, private jets and even art as well as superyachts have been targeted by western authorities.

Turkey has been a favored destination for superyachts as Ankara hasn't sanctioned Russia, meaning that oligarchs' assets are safe from seizure in its waters.

A $156 million superyacht owned by sanctioned billionaire Andrey Skoch, one of the richest members of the Russian Duma, was spotted docked in Dubai as Russians continue to avoid western sanctions in the United Arab Emirates.