A luxurious superyacht linked to a Russian billionaire currently under British and European Union sanctions has been detained in Gibraltar, a British overseas territory. The 72-metre long vessel, Axioma, which belongs to Russian oligarch Dmitry Pumpyansky, docked in Gibraltar on March 21 and was subsequently detained by authorities. Commenting on the seizure, UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said on March 22 that he is doing “all I can to cripple Russia’s aviation and shipping industries.” Pumpyansky is the owner and chairman of steel pipe manufacturer OAO TMK, which has supplied Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom since 1998. His net worth is estimated at £1.84 billion ($2.44 billion). He was sanctioned by the UK last week in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Shapps said the British government has deployed “an unprecedented range of sanctions” against Russia as “we cannot stand idly by while [Russian President] Vladimir Putin tramples over a …
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