UK Court Tosses Sanctions Appeal for Ownership of Seized Superyacht

The U.K. High Court of Justice Administrative Court recently dismissed an application from Russian businessman Sergei Naumenko and companies Dalston Projects and Prism Maritime, legal owners of the Phi superyacht, seeking to regain control of the vessel. The British secretary of state for transport in March 2022 seized the yacht under its Russia sanctions regime.

Judge Ross Cranston said the detention was legal and in line with the goal of encouraging Russia to stop its aggression in Ukraine. Naumenko was properly found to have ties to Russia, and it's irrelevant that he was not sanctioned, the judge said. The sanctions regime allows for restrictions with "a broad and deep impact" with consequences for parties not directly linked to the targeted activities, the judge said, adding that it is not an issue for the court to decide whether any one decision would have the "desired foreign policy outcome."