Alisher Usmanov is one of the names that has come to light lately, because he is one of Putin's wealthy friends on the sanctions lists the authorities use to try to freeze the oligarchs' assets.

But it's not that easy.

This can be seen in the example of the yacht "Dilbar", a yacht which, at 156 meters in length, is one of the largest yachts in the world and is said to have been transferred to Usmanow from the Lürssen shipyard in Bremen in 2016.

Susanne Preuss

Business correspondent in Hamburg.

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This luxury ship was confiscated in the port of Hamburg, wrote the financial news agency Bloomberg on Thursday night, and - spread through various media from "Bild" to "Spiegel" - this claim made the rounds.

Meanwhile: The message is apparently wrong.

"As far as we know, no yacht has been confiscated," reported the Hamburg Authority for Economy and Innovation.

Federal authorities are responsible for enforcing the sanctions, but it has apparently not yet been clarified in detail whether the Ministry of Economic Affairs, customs or the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control will do so.

In the case of the yacht "Dilbar", it is said that the main thing that is still missing is clarity about the ownership structure.

Alisher Usmanow is probably not the direct owner of the ship, can be heard in Hamburg.

The yacht is registered in the Cayman Islands with a Maltese company construct as the owner.

A yacht of superlatives

There is no need to rush.

While the yacht “Graceful”, attributed to Vladimir Putin, left the port of Hamburg for Kaliningrad early in the morning on February 7, despite the storm surge, the “Dilbar” is lying tightly covered with tarpaulins like a work of art by Christo on the Blohm + Voss dry dock.

The shipyard was entrusted with extensive conversion and renovation work.

The Blohm + Voss employees who were involved in this have not been on the ship since Wednesday, it can be heard in Hamburg that the owner has had the work stopped.

The beauty treatment on the ship should have increased the value of the yacht, which is said to have originally cost 600 million dollars.

The yacht, for which a construction time of 52 months is given, is good for a few superlatives.

The 96-strong crew not only has to ensure that two heliports and the largest swimming pool ever installed on a yacht are in good condition, but also twelve suites.

1000 sofa cushions are said to provide the necessary cuddly effect on the yacht.

Rosnet chief's yacht seized in France

What exactly Blohm + Voss had to do at the shipyard is unclear.

The company, which belongs to the Lürssen Group and employs around 1,500 people in the yacht division, does not want to comment on this, apart from a single sentence: "Of course, all orders and projects are treated in accordance with the applicable legal situation."

In the eyes of Hamburg's Senator for Economic Affairs, Michael Westhagemann, the "Dilbar" case is a clear one because of the increase in value as a result of the work on the yacht.

All deliveries that are now to be made in the direction of Russia would have to be specifically applied for at customs: "You can assume that from now on no more yachts will go out."

This is exactly what happened in La Ciotat, France.

When the yacht "Amore Vero" belonging to Rosnet boss Igor Setchin wanted to leave the shipyard on the Cote d'Azur in a hurry, it was stopped.

France's Finance and Economics Minister Bruno Le Maire thanked the French customs officers on Twitter.