Seized Russian superyacht to be auctioned to pay JPMorgan loan

A LUXURY yacht formerly owned by sanctioned Russian businessman Dmitrievich Pumpyansky will be sold at auction on Tuesday (Aug 23) after the billionaire failed to repay JPMorgan Chase a loan, said an auctioneer’s website.

It will be the first superyacht to be publicly auctioned since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed authorities to freeze luxury vessels in ports around the world, said Nigel Hollyer, a broker at auction house Howe Robinson Partners. 

Axioma was seized in Gibraltar in March by authorities in the British territory at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. The ship is valued at £63 million (S$103.7 million) , though it is expected to sell below that price, the BBC said, without disclosing how it got that appraised value.

Last month, JPMorgan won a court order in Gibraltar allowing for the sale of the 73 m vessel after Pumpyansky reneged on a 20.5 million euro (S$28.7 million) loan tied to the ship, Bloomberg earlier reported citing court documents.

A spokesperson for JPMorgan did not immediately reply to an email sent out of hours. 

The 5-deck Axioma, which boasts an infinity swimming pool plus a 3D cinema, has drawn a “staggering amount of interest”, Hollyer said, citing about 115 inquiries and 28 inspections by potential buyers or their survey teams to date. 

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He declined to comment on the value of the boat citing confidentiality agreements. BLOOMBERG