The 48-metre-long yacht named Lady Anastasia cannot leave a marina on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca while police determine if it “belongs or is under the control of” someone on the EU sanctions list, the transport ministry said in a statement.
The authorities suspect it belongs to Russian tycoon Alexander Mikheev, who heads Russian weapon exporting group Rosoboronexport, a police source said.
Rosoboronexport is a subsidiary of Russian defence firm Rostec, owned by Sergei Chemezov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The freezing of the Lady Anastasia comes after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said late on Monday in a television interview that police had impounded a 85-metre-long yacht worth $140 million in Barcelona.
The premier did not give further details, but daily newspaper El Pais said the yacht is named Valeria and it belongs to Chemezov.
Both Chemezov and Mikheev are on the European Union’s list of Russian tycoons targeted by sanctions imposed by the European Union following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24th.
Last month police arrested a Ukrainian crew member of the Lady Anastasia after he tried to sink the yacht in revenge for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, local police said.
