US moves to seize $156 million, 324-foot superyacht Madame Gu linked to a Russian Oligarch in Dubai

The United States is looking to seize a sleek $156million superyacht belonging to a sanctioned Russian oligarch and parliamentarian now docked in Dubai. 

The 324-foot long Madame Gu, which has a helicopter pad, gym, beach club, and elevator, has become a test for the close partnership between the United States and the United Arab Emirates. 

The vessel, with an eye-catching blue hull and $1million annual paint job price tag, is owned by Andrei Skoch, one of the wealthiest men in Russia’s Duma. 

A steel magnate, Skoch’s fortune is valued at about $6.6billion, according to Forbes. Attempts to reach Skoch for comment were not successful.   

It’s not the first of Skoch’s properties the US has taken control of. In August, a judge authorized the United States to seize a $90 million jet belonging to the oligarch. 

The United States is looking to seize a sleek $156million superyacht belonging to a sanctioned Russian oligarch and parliamentarian now docked in Dubai 

The 324-foot Madame Gu, which has a helicopter pad, gym, beach club and elevator, has become a test for the close partnership between the United States and United Arab Emirates

The vessel, with an eye-catching blue hull and $1million annual paint job price tag, is owned by Andrei Skoch, one of the wealthiest men in Russia’s Duma

It’s not the first of Skoch’s properties the US has taken control of. In August, a judge authorized the United States to seize a $90 million jet belonging to the oligarch

The Madame Gu’s June appearance in Dubai showed how Russian oligarchs have parked their assets in the UAE even as Western governments increasingly enforce sanctions and American pressure mounts on its Gulf Arab ally to follow suit amid the Ukraine invasion.

One of a shrinking number of countries where Russians can still fly directly, the UAE has chosen not to impose sanctions on Moscow or freeze the assets of Russian billionaires relocating to the emirates. 

Since the invasion began, 14 percent of all private flights leaving Russia landed in Dubai, up from 3 percent before the invasion, according to the The New York Times.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said of the UAE: ‘It’s frustrating when you see huge assets that are sitting out there and it appears that the country is not cooperating. It would be nice if there were more common cause against Putin while he’s busy shelling hospitals and schools.’

Whitehouse has sponsored legislation that would send the proceeds of seized Russian asset sales to help rebuild Ukraine. 

It’s not the first of Skoch’s properties the US has taken control of. In August, a judge authorized the United States to seize a $90 million jet belonging to the oligarch

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said of the UAE: ‘It’s frustrating when you see huge assets that are sitting out there and it appears that the country is not cooperating. It would be nice if there were more common cause against Putin while he’s busy shelling hospitals and schools’

The United States Treasury first sanctioned Skoch in 2018 over his role in government and alleged ‘longstanding ties to Russian organized criminal groups, including time spent leading one such enterprise.’ 

Earlier in June, the Treasury designated the Madame Gu, along with its helicopter, barring American entities from conducting business with the superyacht. Skoch is also sanctioned by the European Union.

The Madame Gu, registered in the Cayman Islands, flew an Emirati flag when it arrived in Dubai – a show of wealth dramatic enough to rival Dubai´s famed Queen Elizabeth 2 cruise ship-turned-hotel floating just beside it. 

It also was moored just next to the $200million mega yacht Dubai, owned by the city-state’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Satellite photos from Planet Labs PBC show the Madame Gu at its berth at Port Rashid beginning on March 25.

The UAE, home to glitzy Dubai and oil-rich Abu Dhabi, has declined to take sides in Russia’s war on Ukraine and welcomed the influx of Russian money to its beach-front villas and luxury hotels.

The invasion of Ukraine sent Russia’s richest businessmen and politicians scrambling to save their significant assets from what became a widening dragnet. 

Superyachts tied to Russian oligarchs have taken on outsized significance in the Western crackdown that aims to exert pressure on President Vladimir Putin to change course in Ukraine.

Authorities across Europe and elsewhere have seized yachts owned by sanctioned Russian billionaires on a US sanctions list. 

Earlier in June for instance, the US won a legal battle in Fiji to confiscate a $325 million Russian-owned superyacht.

Russian billionaire Andrei Skoch’s Superyacht ‘Madame Gu’ pictured in Port Hercules for the 26th Monaco Yacht Show

The Madame Gu superyacht, owned by Russian parliamentarian Andrei Skoch, is docked at Port Rashid terminal, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Other American allies, including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, are involved in trying to collect and share information with Washington against Russians targeted for sanctions, the White House says.

An apparent influx of superyachts and private planes tied to Russia’s wealthy so far have avoided scrutiny in a country that has long been a magnet for foreign money – legal and otherwise.

But their increasingly visible presence appears to be frustrating Washington. In June, a US court ordered the seizure of two aircraft worth over $400 million believed to be owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. 

The former Chelsea FC owner’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner is now in the UAE, the court filing said.

In a House hearing in June, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf acknowledged the UAE had become a safe haven for Russian oligarchs linked to Putin.

Whitehouse has co-sponsored a bill in the Senate that would send profits from seized Russian assets to help rebuild Ukraine

In a House hearing in June, US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf acknowledged the UAE had become a safe haven for Russian oligarchs linked to Putin

‘I´m not happy at all with the record at this point and I plan to make this a priority to drive to a better alignment, shall we say, of effort,’ said Leaf, who once served as an ambassador to the UAE.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, one of the main U.S. coordinators on the Russian sanctions strategy, visited Dubai and Abu Dhabi to meet with Emirati financial officials this week.

Adeyemo warned of challenges that have emerged amid the war on Ukraine ‘for both governments seeking to hold Russia accountable and for financial institutions like yours that are responsible for implementing the financial sanctions we impose.’