The “North” is the property of Alexei Mordachov, an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin and targeted by Western sanctions taken after the invasion of Ukraine.
Le Monde
South Africa has “no reason to prevent” a luxury megayacht that would belong to one of the richest Russian oligarchs to dock in its territorial waters, said Vincent Magwenya, a spokesperson Presidential, Thursday, October 27, in response to an opposition warning. “South Africa has no legal obligation to respect the sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union,” he said at a press briefing. Pursuant to these sanctions, several authorities, notably Spanish, Italian, French and faithful, have seized yachts linked to Russian oligarchs in order to put pressure on President Vladimir Putin and his entourage.
The northern megayacht, whose value is estimated at $ 500 million, would be the property of Alexei Mordachov, a steel magnate close to Mr. Putin. Like other Russian oligarchs, Mr. Mordachov is targeted by Western sanctions taken after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The North left Hong Kong last week, where he stayed three weeks, and could reach South Africa on November 8 or 9. The South African opposition warned Wednesday that the government was exposed to sanctions if it authorized this boat to dock.
The mayor of CAP, Geordin Hill-Lewis, wrote to the government to ask him to block the entrance to the ship in the country’s territorial waters. He condemned Wednesday a “lax approach to silver launders and racketeers”, but also “refractory to sanctions”. South Africa has “the moral duty to do what it can to protest against unjust war, state terrorism and the flagrant violation of human rights,” he said. Pretoria has adopted a neutral position since the start of the Russian invasion in Ukraine on February 24, refusing to join Western calls to condemn Moscow.