The sanctioned Russian oligarch’s $500 million luxury yacht leaves Hong Kong for Cape Town

a luxury yacht Who belongs to the sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov left Hong Kong The waters are heading Thursday for the port of Cape Town, South Africa, according to private tracking website Marine Traffic.

The prominent sight of a 465-foot (141-meter) multi-storey lighthouse in the city’s Victoria Harbor in recent weeks has drawn criticism from the US State Department, which has questioned the financial center’s “transparency” and warned of reputational risks.

Mordashov, a billionaire close to President Vladimir Putinwas among a number of Russians It has been ratified by the United States and the European Union – but not by the United Nations – after Russia Invasion of Ukraine because of their ties to Putin.

While a number of Russian giant yachts have been seized or denied entry into Europe and other jurisdictions, the Northern Ship was left undisturbed in Hong Kong after arriving on October 5.

Worth more than $500 million, it arrived via a seven-day voyage from Vladivostok in the Russian Far East, through the Sea of ​​Japan and the East China Sea.

The Hong Kong Navy Department later confirmed that the northern ship had left Hong Kong on Thursday but said it could not comment further.

Marine Traffic positioned the ship southeast of Hong Kong waters early Thursday evening, bound for the South China Sea.

An eyewitness saw a fuel barge next to the ship inside the port at noon.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said on October 11 that the city authorities would not take action on unilateral sanctions imposed on Mordashov by individual judicial authorities.

“We can’t do anything that has no legal basis,” said Lee, who himself was punished by the United States for his role in suppressing domestic liberties.

Li, who is scheduled to host an international investment summit in November with world business leaders, said the Chinese-ruled city would only abide by UN sanctions.