Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin attends the panel at the 2017 St Petersburg International Economic Forum in St Petersburg, Russia on June 2, 2017.
Sefa Karacan | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
LONDON — French authorities have seized a yacht they say is linked to Russian oligarch Igor Sechin.
“Thanks to the French customs officers who are enforcing the European Union’s sanctions against those close to the Russian government,” France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a tweet Thursday, according to a Reuters translation.
According to a translation of a letter shared in the tweet, French authorities seized the Amore Velo yacht on March 2, after a check that took several hours. The 280-foot yacht was seized in the La Ciotat shipyards, on the south coast of France.
Sechin was included in a list, published Feb. 28, of Russian oligarchs that would be subject to European Union sanctions, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The letter said the yacht had arrived in La Ciotat on Jan. 3, 2022, and was originally set to remain there until April 1 to undergo repairs. However, France’s ministry of finance said that the yacht was preparing to cast off when authorities began their check.
The ministry said this departure attempt constituted an infraction of a customs code, in aiming to breach planned economic and financial restrictions.
Sechin, former deputy prime minister of Russia, has been the CEO of Russian state oil company Rosneft since 2012. According to the European Union’s sanctions document, Sechin is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “most trusted and closest advisors, as well as his personal friend.”
The document also highlighted that Rosneft Aero, which is a subsidiary of Rosneft, delivers jet fuel to the Simferopol Airport. This airport provides flight connections between the annexed territory of Crimea and Sevastopol and Russia.
“Therefore he is supporting the consolidation of the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula into the Russian Federation, which in turn further undermines the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” the document stated.
Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin attends the panel at the 2017 St Petersburg International Economic Forum in St Petersburg, Russia on June 2, 2017.Sefa Karacan | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images LONDON — French authorities have seized a yacht they say is linked to Russian oligarch Igor Sechin.”Thanks to the French customs officers who are enforcing the European Union’s sanctions against those close to the Russian government,” France’s Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a tweet Thursday, according to a Reuters translation.According to a translation of a letter shared in the tweet, French authorities seized the Amore Velo yacht on March 2, after a check that took several hours. The 280-foot yacht was seized in the La Ciotat shipyards, on the south coast of France.Sechin was included in a list, published Feb. 28, of Russian oligarchs that would be subject to European Union sanctions, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.The letter said the yacht had arrived in La Ciotat on Jan. 3, 2022, and was originally set to remain there until April 1 to undergo repairs. However, France’s ministry of finance said that the yacht was preparing to cast off when authorities began their check.The ministry said this departure attempt constituted an infraction of a customs code, in aiming to breach planned economic and financial restrictions.Sechin, former deputy prime minister of Russia, has been the CEO of Russian state oil company Rosneft since 2012. According to the European Union’s sanctions document, Sechin is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “most trusted and closest advisors, as well as his personal friend.”The document also highlighted that Rosneft Aero, which is a subsidiary of Rosneft, delivers jet fuel to the Simferopol Airport. This airport provides flight connections between the annexed territory of Crimea and Sevastopol and Russia.”Therefore he is supporting the consolidation of the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula into the Russian Federation, which in turn further undermines the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine,” the document stated.