A Russian billionaire acted as a 'straw owner' to hide true owner of $1 billion worth of superyachts, including one linked to Vladimir Putin, a report says

US authorities believe that a Russian billionaire acted as a "straw owner" of two $1 billion superyachts.

According to a news outlet, a US affidavit says a nest of offshore companies and a yacht broker helped hide a superyacht's true owner.

Russian billionaires have had their superyachts seized or held in different parts of the world because of western sanctions. Suleiman Kerimov has a $325 million superyacht that the US is trying to seize. The owner of the vessel was found to have caused US dollar transactions to be routed through US financial institutions for the support and maintenance of the Amadea.

A $700 million superyacht was refloated after being refueled, after being in a dry dock for nine months. It is thought to be linked to Russian President Putin.

The beneficial owner of the two boats is the former president of the state-controlled oil company, according to the report. US officials believe that he is the true beneficial owner.

An affidavit by a special agent with the FBI states that the fact that the owner of two of the largest superyachts on record is also linked to sanctions suggests that he is.

There is no reason to believe that Khudainatov has the financial resources to purchase the Amadea and the Scheherazade, which are collectively worth more than $1 billion.

The Amadea has a helipad, a mosaic-tiled pool, and a lobster tank. According to Forbes, Kerimov is the ninth-richest person in Russia with a fortune of around $14.5 billion. He has been sanctioned by the US, EU, and the UK over his ties to Russian President Putin.

The Kerimov family was involved in approving the installation of a new pizza oven, a particular brand of spa bed, and the re-positioning of electric sockets on the vessel, according to an affidavit seen by Bloomberg. Each family member was given a codename by crew members, including Kerimov.

Apparently G0 has two things that have to be perfect. The document says that G0 has requested the fastest available jet skis so we will be getting new skis at some point.