The largest yacht in the world has been seized by authorities in Germany after it was linked to a Russian billionaire facing sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
The 512-foot superyacht, named "Dilbar," was impounded this week in Hamburg where it was undergoing renovations, Bloomberg reported.
Germany's federal police determined that "despite offshore concealment," the yacht is owned by Gulbakhor Ismailova, the sister of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, according to the outlet.
"The luxury yacht Dilbar is therefore subject to sanctions law and was able to be legally impounded in Hamburg," officials said in a tweet.
Usmanov is one of Russia's wealthiest billionaires with vast holdings across multiple sectors of the Russian Federation economy as well as internationally, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
"Usmanov is known to be close to Putin as well as Dmitry Medvedev, the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia and former President and Prime Minister of Russia. Usmanov and Putin allegedly have financial ties, while Medvedev has reportedly benefited from the personal use of luxurious residences controlled by Usmanov," the department said when announcing sanctions in March.
The Dilbar, named after Usmanov's mother, is registered in the Cayman Islands and worth between $600 and $735 million, according to the Treasury Department. The ship has two helipads and one of the world's largest indoor pools ever installed on a yacht.
At 15,917 tons, the Dilbar is considered the world's largest yacht by internal volume.
The seizure is part of an international effort to hold sanctioned Russian elites accountable. The U.S. has vowed to target "any individual whose criminal acts enable the Russian government to continue its unjust war."
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