Spain seizes yacht owned by Russian oligarch close to Putin

MADRID: Authorities seized on Monday a mega yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the demand of the United States, Spanish police said.

The 78-meter-long yacht named Tango was impounded at the Mediterranean port of Palma de Mallorca by Spanish police in coordination with US federal agents, Spain’s Guardia Civil police force said in a statement.

The Tango, worth over 90 million euros ($99 million), belongs to Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, the head of conglomerate Renova Group who is "very close" to Putin, the statement added.

Renova and some other Russian companies were added to a US sanctions black-list in 2018 as part of Washington’s efforts to punish Moscow for its alleged attacks against "Western democracies".

While Vekselberg is not "at the moment" the target of European Union sanctions, he is under investigation in the United States for trying to conceal his ownership of the yacht to avoid Washington’s sanctions, the statement said.