A man considered to be the wealthiest oligarch in Russia has joined a growing list of people moving their prized assets to Dubai as the West tightens its sanctions on Russia's economy.
Vladimir Potanin is the head of the world's largest refined nickel and palladium producer and has been photographed playing ice hockey with President Vladimir Putin.
He may not be sanctioned by the United States or Europe yet, but he could potentially roil metal markets and disrupt supply chains, experts say.
As the biggest shareholder in the mining company Nornickel, Potanin had a personal fortune of US 30.6 billion $44 billion before the war in Ukraine, according to Forbes.
Like an increasing number of black-listed Russian oligarchs, he has apparently taken the precaution of moving his US 300 million superyacht to the safe haven of Dubai, in the US-allied United Arab Emirates.
The Nirvana is a sleek 88 metre superyacht, equipped with a glass elevator, gym, hot tub, 3 D cinema and two terrariums of exotic reptiles, stands out even in a port full of flashy floating mansions.
The giant Dutch-built vessel with a navy blue hull flew the flag of the Cayman Islands on Tuesday when journalists observed the ship at Dubai's Port Rashid - in the eyes of Russian parliamentarian Andrei Skoch's US 156 million Madame Gu.
Representatives for Potanin did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The arrival of Russian-owned luxury vessels in Dubai has become an outsized symbol of the UAE's reluctance to oppose Moscow's war on Ukraine and enforce Western sanctions.
The financial centre has become a thriving hub for Russians, because of its reputation for welcoming money from anywhere — legitimate or shady.
Julia Friedlander, a former senior policy adviser to Europe in the US Treasury'sTreasury's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said that they hadn't tried to hide the fact that they're accepting oligarchs themselves and their yachts.
It is not in their political interest to take sides in the conflict when it comes to taking sides.
The UAE Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
The Emirati stance has sparked tensions with the US, which has tried to pressure its Gulf Arab ally to help fight Russian sanctions evasion.
Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, one of the main US coordinators on the Russian sanctions strategy, visited the UAE last week to voice American concerns about Russian financial flows and demand increased vigilance.
There is no indication that US President Joe Biden will impose secondary sanctions, leaving Washington with few pressure points.
Western economic sanctions have been proliferated in an effort to pressure Putin to change course after Moscow's war on Ukraine grinds on.
The European Union has captured billions of dollars in art, yachts and property.
Britain, Fiji, Italy, Spain and other countries have impounded oligarchs' yachts while the US has seized vessels and aircraft.
Some prominent oligarchs, however, have escaped the blacklist because of their strategic holdings.
His reputation as the King of Nickel has spared him, even though he has been hit with Canadian and Australian sanctions for his close ties to the Kremlin.
We're reaching a critical metal shortage, and we don't know where those supply chains are headed, so you have to ask, would sanctioning him make things worse? Friedlander said something.