168ft superyacht from sanctioned Russian billionaires is up for sale for over £27m

Russian billionaire Igor Kesaev was sanctioned in April following Vladimir Putin's EU and UK invasion of Ukraine - but now his £27million yacht is being sold in the US

The MySky superyacht linked to Russian Igor Kesaev is seen in Indian Ocean waters near Malé, Maldives (

Image: Reuters)

A luxury yacht broker announces the sale of a 168ft superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Igor Kesaev for around £27m.

The proposed sale of the MySky yacht comes as Western governments and activists fear billionaires like Kesaev may have circumvented a patchwork of international sanctions targeting their luxury assets such as yachts.

The EU and UK sanctioned Kesaev in April following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

His involvement in the production of military weapons and the distribution of tobacco in Russia has been cited, as well as links to the Kremlin "and its security forces".

Sara Gioanola, spokesperson for Heesen Yachts, the Dutch company that built MySky, confirmed that Kesaev ordered it and another yacht, called Sky.

It is unclear whether Kesaev still holds direct ownership of MySky.

An article about Kesaev's daughter and her art gallery in the Spring 2021 edition of Heesen magazine noted that "the Kesaev family are well known to Heesen, having commissioned Sky and MySky over the past decade" .

Russian billionaire Igor Kesaev has been sanctioned by the EU and the UK (

Picture:

Bloomberg via Getty Images)

An announcement was sent from an email address from Merle Wood & Associates of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which calls its...