Axioma

The US Treasury Department has withdrawn from sanctions against the 'Axioma', previously allegedly owned by a Russian businessman, on May 19, 2023. On what basis the vessel was withdrawn from sanctions was not specified. In 2022, it was reported that the 'Axioma' was sold at auction in Gibraltar for $37 million after it was held up by British Territory authorities following the imposition of sanctions. The reason for the arrest was a lawsuit filed by the American bank JP Morgan, which claimed that Pyrene Investments owed the bank more than $20 million. It was not reported who became the new owner of the vessel. The US Treasury also did not specify whether the change of owner influenced the decision to withdraw it from sanctions.

Gibraltar on Sep 27 has sold the 'Axioma',, which was belonging to Russian oligarch Dmitry Pumpyansky, for $37.5 million following its seizure on March 22 under Ukraine war sanctions following a complaint filed by the US bank JP Morgan. The move came shortly after Pumpyansky - head of TMK, Russia’s biggest manufacturer of steel pipes - was added to the list of tycoons targeted by EU and UK sanctions after Russia invaded Ukraine. Gibraltar’s Supreme Court had in June ordered that the yacht be sold at auction, with the yacht attracting 63 bids. The funds raised will be used to compensate the oligarch’s creditors. In December 2021, JP Morgan granted a loan of €20.5 million ($21.7 million) to a company registered in the British Virgin Islands whose shareholders included a Cypriot firm owned by Pumpyansky. But the bank saw Pumpyansky’s inclusion on Britain’s sanctions list as a breach of the loan contract since it led to the freezing of his assets. So it asked the Gibraltar authorities to seize the yacht which was listed as one of the loan guarantees, and requested it be sold to repay the loan. Any creditors will now have 60 days to make a claim against the proceeds of the sale, and the court will decide how the money is distributed. It will also determine the fate of any leftover funds. The auction did not include an estimated €150,000 worth of wine and other bottles which were aboard the yacht when it was seized.

As the competent court of the British territory announced on Aug 23, 63 bids were submitted for the "Axioma". The bidding phase is now complete, now the buyer will be decided. The sale could be completed in between 10 and 14 days. In June, a court in Gibraltar ordered the “Axioma” to be auctioned off at the highest possible price. Not included in the auction are the bottles of wine and other alcohol from the yacht's bar, which is estimated to be worth €150,000.