Sanctioning oligarch's superyachts could not be easier but determining who the actual owner is can be tricky. Here's how the sanctioning process works.

Finding the actual owner of the dozen superyachts seized from Russian billionaires can be difficult.

Russian billionaires have had their multimillion-dollar superyachts seized by governments as a result of a series of global sanctions against Russia. Italy seized a $578 million megayacht and France and Spain seized a $120 million vessel.

The crew of a superyacht docked in Italy that is rumored to be linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin disappeared and is now under the control of a British crew. It's not easy to prove the yacht is owned by Putin.

Insider previously reported that without crews to maintain the superyachts seized, they could quickly waste away. The sanctions against the Russian billionaires could lead to lengthy court battles over ownership of the assets that have been seized.

Benjamin Maltby, partner at Keystone Law in the UK and an expert in yacht and luxury asset law, told Insider that the connection between beneficial owner and registered owner is tricky.

Impounding process

Todd Roberts, president of Marine Boat Works in California, told Insider that it is highly unusual for the government to seize a vessel unless it has been involved in a crime.

The government can't get ownership of the yacht because of the steps European authorities have taken. The authorities have stopped the ship's progress. They would need to be able to prove that a crime was committed with the vessel in order to transfer ownership of the ship.

For anyone in England, someone from the Harbormaster office or a port police officer will simply walk up the gangplank on the back of a yacht and hand the captain an official piece of paper that prevents them from leaving.

In every port or harbor in the world, officials have the authority to tell ships where to go, whether they can enter, and whether they can leave.

The officer will say "please, do not move the ship" and it is no more dramatic than that.

Finding the owner

Roberts thinks that the government is overstepping its bounds.

It is a big stretch to say these ships are Russian owned. The beneficial owner might be Russian, but these boats are owned and operated by contractors.

I don't know who owns the boats that are in my own boatyard on any given day. I know the management company but not the business agent.

Assets can be a source of liability. The beneficial owner doesn't want the world to know they are the actual owner, according to Maltby.

A beneficial owner is someone who enjoys the benefits of ownership, even though the title is in another name. The owning company comes into play.

He said that lawyers would be instructed to set up an owning company in an offshore jurisdiction.

The tricky part, still, is that the beneficial owner will instruct what are called nominees, directors, and shareholders, who will typically be employees of the offshore law firm or corporate services provider.

A ship needs to be registered. It is possible for anyone to find out the name of the company that owns the yacht by going to the registry and looking for the owner.

The names shown will most likely be of people who are not ultra-high net worth individuals. They tend to be secretaries, assistants from the law firm or corporate service provider, and they are called nominees.

The beneficial owner and the law firm or corporate services provider are not available to the public. There is no easy way to find out who the beneficial owner is.

Some of the world's most expensive superyachts are hanging in the balance. If European authorities do not take responsibility for the care of the yachts, they will waste away.