Russian businessman loses appeal against UK over detained superyacht

LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) – A wealthy Russian businessman lost a lawsuit against Britain on Friday over the seizure of his $50 million superyacht.

Sergei Naumenko’s 58.5-meter yacht Phi was arrested in London under Russian government sanctions in March 2022, the first time the regulations were used to stop a ship.

Naumenko, who owns the yacht through a company registered in St. Kitts and Nevis, has taken legal action against Britain’s Department for Transport (DfT), arguing that the ship was detained for an improper purpose.

Then-Transport Secretary Grant Shapps posed in front of the yacht when it was detained and described Naumenko, who is not subject to British sanctions, as a “friend” of Russian President Vladimir Putin, which Naumenko denies.

The DfT justified the yacht’s detention on the grounds that it was intended to put pressure on wealthy Russians after the invasion of Ukraine, which Naumenko’s lawyers argued was unfair.

He said he was targeted simply because he was a wealthy Russian, even though he was not involved in Russian politics or had any connection to Putin.

However, his case was thrown out of London’s High Court on Friday, with Judge Ross Cranston throwing out Naumenko’s case that the yacht was stopped for an improper purpose.

The yacht was legally detained because it was “a high-value ship… and its owner, Mr. Naumenko, was ‘connected’ to Russia,” the judge said in a written ruling.

Cranston accepted that Shapps was wrong to describe Naumenko as a friend of Putin, but said it was “excusable political hyperbole”.

Naumenko’s attorney, Paul Dickie, said in a statement that the Phi’s owner was disappointed by the decision and is considering filing an appeal.

A DfT spokesperson welcomed the ruling, saying: “We will continue to act where necessary to crack down on those who profit from the Putin regime and its illegal war in Ukraine.”

Reporting by Sam Tobin; edited by Philippa Fletcher

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