A number of assets linked to a Russian billionaire have been frozen. The billionaire, one of the wealthiest men in Russia, was targeted by the US, European Union, and UK in the weeks following the invasion, as governments targeted high- net-worth individuals with links to the Kremlin. According to the Russian Asset Tracker, assets it says belong to individuals close to Putin are worth a minimum known value. The investigative journalism nonprofit, working alongside media outlets, launched the site to track down assets of several oligarchs, a number of which are linked to offshore companies and bank accounts. The tracker has information on 14 billionaires. A $600 million megayacht is one of the properties and other assets linked to Usmanov. According to the UK government, the value of the house in Highgate is estimated to be around $60 million. On March 3, the UK said that it would cut off their interests in the UK, including mansions worth tens of millions of dollars. The billionaire's UK property holdings had been transferred intoirrevocable trusts, and he no longer had beneficial rights over them, according to a spokesman for him. From that point on, Mr. Usmanov did not own them, nor was he able to manage them or deal with their sale, but could only use them on a rental basis. According to The Guardian, Mr. Usmanov donated his beneficial rights to his family after withdrawing from the beneficiaries of the trusts. The trusts cannot be amended after they were created, and since the owner of the trusts no longer is, properties like the Beechwood house could be out of the government's reach. Insider asked for comment on his link to the property, but a spokesman for Usmanov did not reply immediately. The UK government said that Usmanov owned a 16th-century estate in the south of England. According to the asset tracker, the property is valued at over 40 million dollars and is listed as a historic building. The mansion was owned by a number of wealthy men in the 20th century. The estate is listed as belonging to two companies in Cyprus, according to the tracker. An investigation by the Financial Times found a number of business links to the property, but could not find the owner. A spokesman for Mr. Usmanov told Insider that the place is not owned or used by him. It is the property of the trusts that have his sister as a beneficiary. We have already said that Mr. Usmanov transferred his property into trusts. The statement said that this had nothing to do with sanctions or an attempt to hide anything, but was driven by the desire to care for his relatives. The trusts were established 15 years ago, when the rights to the assets he transferred into them were no longer held by him. It is not clear when the assets were transferred into the trust. A $600 million superyacht, Dilbar, has been linked with Usmanov. The US Treasury says that Dilbar is named after the mother of the man. The vessel is the largest motor yacht in the world by gross tonnage, according to its manufacturer. The largest pool on a yacht is 82 feet long. The yacht was seized by Germany's Federal Police on April 14 after they realized it was owned by the sister of the man. The EU sanctions list says that she transferred assets, including the megayacht, to her. According to the EU, the only beneficial owner of the yacht is the trust company that indirectly owns Dilbar, and that is because Usmanov ceased to be a shareholder in the company. The yacht is docked in Germany. Forbes initially reported that the yacht had been seized in Germany, but later corrected their story. The crew of the megayacht were dismissed because of sanctions. The billionaire is linked to a number of villas along the Mediterranean coast of the Italian island of Sardinia, which are not registered to him, but rather to offshore companies. The cluster of five villas is located in a coastal area in the town of Arzachena in Sardinia. One villa is valued at $5.9 million, and another is valued at $6.9 million, and both are owned by the same company. According to the EU's sanctions list, Ismailova has been linked to luxury real estate in Italy and Latvia, that can be linked to her brother. A spokesman for Usmanov did not respond to a request for comment about his link to properties in Sardinia. Keep reading.
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