On July 20, 2023, the UK sanctions against the Russian billionaire Oleg Tinkov were lifted, and he was removed from the UK’s sanctions list days after British billionaire Richard Branson appealed. Tinkov’s superyacht La Datcha and his private jet disappeared when he was placed on the UK sanctions list in March 2022. Now that Tinkov is off the sanctions list, La Datcha resurfaced and has resumed transmitting its location data.
In March 2022, Tinkov, the founder of Tinkoff Bank, was included on sanctions lists in the UK. Within hours, two of his biggest assets, the $100 million superyacht La Datcha and his $63 million 2018 Dassault Falcon private jet, “disappeared.” Both craft stopped broadcasting their location and were stowed away to prevent British authorities from seizing them. Interestingly, Once that system was turned off, it was incredibly difficult for lawmakers in the UK to track down La Datcha and seize it.
Tinkov has not been sanctioned by the US or the EU. Tinkov renounced his Russian citizenship in October 2022 and called for other prominent Russian businessmen to do the same, which resulted in the forced sale of his stake in Tinkoff Bank.
According to Forbes, Tinkov still has a net worth of $4.7 billion. Forbes does not consider Oleg Tinkov to be an oligarch “because he built an independent fortune without ties to the Russian government under either Boris Yeltsin or Vladimir Putin.“
La Datcha is a pioneering expedition yacht designed by Oleg Tinkov and built by Damen Yachting. As the world’s first private icebreaker, it can venture to remote parts of the planet, including polar regions. The vessel is equipped with various amenities, including a dive center, ski room, and two tender garages. It also features two helicopters and a submarine, combining the qualities of an adventure vessel with the luxuries of a superyacht.
The removal from the sanctions list and the luxury yacht’s return could also motivate other oligarchs to speak out against Putin and the Ukraine war.
