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A second yacht linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich docked in the Turkish resort town of Marmaris on March 22 after a detour around Greek islands. A Reuters source who is well-informed about Abramovich's recent dealings says he and other wealthy Russians are looking to invest in Turkey. Earlier, the country refused to support the sanctions against Russia.
One of the world’s largest yachts, Eclipse is 162.5 meters long and features two helipads, nine decks, a swimming pool, and built-in anti-missile defenses. The vessel sails under a Bermuda flag, like another superyacht presumably owned by Abramovich, the 140-meter-long Solaris, which arrived in Bodrum the day before, also avoiding EU waters. Once Solaris had docked, anti-war activists approached in a motorboat to protest its arrival.
As of today, the billionaire has moved over $1.2 billion worth of assets to Turkey, with each vessel having a market value of more than $600 million.
According to Reuters, flight tracking data suggests Abramovich visited Istanbul last week, but there is no evidence of him boarding either yacht.
Previously, investigators discovered the Scheherazade, a yacht worth $700 million, in the western Italian port of Marina di Carrara. According to Alexei Navalny’s team, its owner is Vladimir Putin.
With a length of 140 meters, the yacht has six decks, two helipads, a swimming pool, a spa lounge, a beauty parlor, immense guest halls, and luxurious cabins. Its owner had remained incognito for a long while, even though many publications had linked it to Putin.
Navalny’s team studied the Scheherazade’s crew list, which had been drawn up at the same Italian port. The document includes the name and full details of every team member, from date of birth to visa number. All of the names are Russian.
“Furthermore, there's a similarity between the key crew members. They are all officers of the Federal Security Service (FSO), an agency that protects Putin and provides for his daily needs,” the investigators concluded upon studying the crew’s passport details and flight history.
The first two pages of the crew list feature 23 individuals, with almost half of them connected to the FSO. Many are logged in private contact lists as officers of the FSO’s Caucasian branch, which takes care of Putin's residence in Bocharov Ruchey. Some have ‘Bocharka’ or ‘Bocharov Ruchey’ expressly added to their names.”