A German court has ruled that the European Union's sanctions no longer apply to a superyacht previously linked by media reports to Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov after finding insufficient evidence that he controls the trust that owns the vessel, Bloomberg reported.
The administrative court in Frankfurt ruled that authorities failed to establish a connection between Usmanov and The Sister Trust, the entity that formally owns the Dilbar yacht, or to prove that the billionaire exercises influence over the trust, Bloomberg said. The decision is not yet final and can be appealed.
Germany's Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control (BAFA), which defended the sanctions in court, declined to comment, according to Bloomberg. German shipbuilder Lürssen and a representative for The Sister Trust did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Usmanov said the billionaire welcomed the ruling.
Lürssen continued maintaining Dilbar at its Hamburg shipyard after the European Union imposed sanctions on Usmanov in 2022. In 2025, the company filed suit seeking a declaration that EU sanctions no longer applied to the vessel, allowing it to bill the yacht's owners for maintenance costs.
