A German court ruled that the EU sanctions against Russian billionaire Usmanov's yacht were unfounded
The Administrative Court of Frankfurt am Main ruled to lift sanctions restrictions on the luxury superyacht Dilbar, which had previously been linked to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
The court concluded that the link between the billionaire and The Sister Trust—the entity under which the vessel is officially registered—had not been proven.
German authorities were unable to provide convincing evidence confirming Usmanov’s influence over the trust’s activities. Therefore, in the court’s opinion, the application of EU sanctions against this vessel is unfounded.
This decision has not yet become final and remains subject to a possible appeal by the regulators.
The German agency BAFA, which served as the defendant in this case, has so far refrained from making official comments on the outcome of the hearing.
Representatives of the Lürssen shipyard and the trust’s management have also not responded to journalists’ inquiries. Meanwhile, Alisher Usmanov’s press office officially stated that the businessman “welcomed the court’s decision.”
The legal proceedings surrounding the Dilbar intensified after sanctions were imposed on Usmanov in 2022, while the Lürssen shipyard continued to perform maintenance on the vessel in Hamburg.
In 2025, the shipyard filed a lawsuit seeking legal confirmation that the yacht was no longer subject to sanctions. This would allow the company to bill the owners for vessel maintenance without hindrance.
The costs of maintaining such a vessel are extremely high: previously, monthly maintenance cost about $2 million, and total annual expenses exceeded $70 million.
The lawsuit was filed after the billionaire’s sister, Gulbahor Ismailova—the primary beneficiary of The Sister Trust—was removed from the EU sanctions list in March 2025.
This was reported by the Bloomberg news agency.
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