The captain of Sechin's yacht was told to leave a French port and sail to Turkey as soon as possible after he was hit with sanctions, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The US and the European Union placed Sechin on their sanctions lists shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. Sechin is also known as Darth Vader.
The account of Sechin's orders offers a glimpse into how the wealthiest Russians who were targeted by sanctions sought to move their superyachts and private jets across the world.
According to an interview with the Journal, Eric Salles, a lead officer on the seizure operation, said that French customs officers found out last week that the yacht was going to leave the French town of La Ciotat despite having repair works scheduled.
Customs officers heard that the yacht was owned by the CEO of the Russian oil giant, Salles said.
Salles said in the interview that the customs officers went to the yacht and questioned the captain.
Salles told the Journal that the captain ordered him to leave the French port and sail to Turkey as quickly as possible.
Salles told the Journal that French authorities tied the superyacht to the quay with steel rope slings so it wouldn't leave. Salles said that officers proceeded to check documents, further question the captain and crew, and surveil the vessel 24/7.
Bruno Le Maire, French finance minister, said in a press release that the yacht was seized by the authorities on Wednesday night. Salles told the Journal that the captain wasn't arrested.
The EU, US, UK and others have imposed sanctions on Russian business executives because of their ties to Putin.
The Associated Press reported on Friday that officials in Italy seized the superyachts of Gennady Timchenko and Alexei Mordashov.
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