- A five-deck superyacht seized from Russian steel tycoon Dmitry Pumpyansky has been sold.
- The Axioma, which had previously been valued at $75 million, sold for $37.5 million, per Reuters.
A superyacht seized from its Russian oligarch owner has been sold in the first auction of its kind since the beginning of the Ukraine war.
The 236-foot vessel named the Axioma had been owned by steel tycoon Dmitry Pumpyansky and had an estimated value of $75 million, per Superyachtfan.
Nigel Hollyer of Howe Robinson Partners, which brokered the auction on behalf of The Office of the Admiralty Marshal in Gibraltar, confirmed to Insider that the vessel had been sold, but declined to confirm the amount.
"The Admiralty Marshal has today sold the MY Axioma following payment into court of $37.5m by the successful bidder," Gibraltar's Supreme Court said in a statement to the Guardian on Tuesday. Reuters also reported the final sum as $37.5 million.
The Axioma's fate has been closely scrutinized since it was seized by the government of Gibraltar in March. It was seized after a legal request by the US investment bank JP Morgan, according to documents seen by Reuters.
The seizure came after Pumpyansky defaulted on a 20.5 million euro ($19.6 million) loan payment made to one of his companies, Reuters added. The loan automatically defaulted after Pumpyansky was sanctioned by Western governments following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Reuters added.
Until March, Pumpyansky was the owner of steel manufacturer OAO TMK and has an estimated worth of around $2 billion, according to Forbes's Billionaire's Index.
The five-deck Axioma boasts six cabins and has a glass elevator, cinema, and infinity pool. Hollyer previously confirmed to Insider that the boat had received 63 bids. The identity of the final buyer has not been disclosed.
The Office of the Admiralty Marshal said that funds from the sale would be used to settle the debt, and the court would then decide what to do with the surplus, per Reuters.