The lawyer of the Russian linked the arrest of the yacht with the desire of London to “seem cool”

London detained Sergei Naumenko's yacht in March 2022; the ex-Minister of Transport called him an "oligarch" and a "friend of Putin." The Russian, who is not on the sanctions list, denied these allegations and sued the British Ministry of Transport

The UK has detained the £38m ($45m) superyacht Phi owned by Russian businessman Sergei Naumenko in order to “appear cool” and force the businessman to criticize the Russian authorities, said his lawyer Nigel Giffin.

At the same time, the British authorities do not think about how this criticism will affect Naumenko himself and his business, the lawyer said. "You can't justify disproportionate action against individuals with a desire to appear tough," Giffin said ( quoted by BLOOMBERG ).

The 58m vessel was detained at the port of Canary Wharf in London in March 2022; Grant Shapps, who then served as HEAD of the British Ministry of Transport, said that this was done as part of measures "against those who want to benefit from ties with the Putin regime": the yacht was confiscated when the authorities of European countries and the United States began to freeze Russian assets due to start of hostilities in Ukraine .

Shapps called the ship's owner an "oligarch" and "friend" of the Russian president. Naumenko denied these allegations, accused Shapps of slander and threatened the minister with a lawsuit, The Times reported in August. Captain Phi told Bloomberg that Naumenko never met the Russian president. The agency notes that the businessman is a developer and importer of food products, he is not included in the sanctions lists. At the same time, the British authorities justify the detention by the fact that Naumenko is "connected with RUSSIA."

In May 2023, Naumenko sued the British Ministry of Transport in a London COURT demanding that the restrictions be lifted and damages be compensated.

The Financial Times wrote that the superyacht belongs to Vitaly Kochetkov, the founder of the communications operator in the Urals Federal District Motiv, and nominally belongs to Sergey Naumenko. The London court also named Naumenko the beneficial owner of Phi.

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