INTERNATIONAL: German authorities have denied on Thursday a report that they had seized a nearly $600 million luxury yacht owned by metal tycoon and Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who has faced European Union sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Citing sources in the yacht industry, Forbes had reported that the more-than-500-foot Dilbar superyacht, which boasts a 25-meter swimming pool, was taken in the northern port of Hamburg.
A representative of Usmanov did not want to comment on the matter.
Forbes had reported on Wednesday that the Dilbar had been undergoing a refit in shipyards of Blohm + Voss and that the German government had frozen the asset.
Germany's General Customs Office has said it could not comment publicly on operational measures.
A spokesperson for Blohm + Voss has declined to comment, saying only that all orders and projects of its owners, the Luerssen Group, and its subsidiaries were treated in accordance with the legal situation.
The EU have imposed sanctions on the Russian tycoon and metals magnate and 25 other prominent people for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to a decision published in the EU's official journal.
Delivered in 2016, Dilbar is the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage, according to the Luerssen website. Among its recreational facilities is the largest-ever pool to have been installed on a yacht.
At least five superyachts owned by Russian billionaires were anchored or cruising on Wednesday in Maldives, an Indian Ocean island nation that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, ship tracking data showed.
PHOTO: ATTENTION EDITORS: THIS VERSION REPLACES THE TEXT OF AN EARLIER STORY THAT REFERRED TO MEDIA REPORTS.
