How Russian Wealthy Individuals Use Cyprus Alternative Investment Funds to Hide Assets

This article references Graham Stack's piece published on September 5, 2024, on the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) website titled "Secretive Cyprus-Registered Funds Were Used to Hide Megayachts and Luxury Real Estate Linked to Sanctioned Russian Banker." Interested readers can visit the website to read the original article.

Russian banker Andrei Kostin (hereinafter referred to as AK) is under sanctions from the U.S. and Europe, which means his overseas assets must be hidden—not for tax evasion, debt avoidance, or money laundering. Therefore, AK must use the most secretive structures in the world; otherwise, the assets would be reclaimed by his home country (the U.S.). By "secretive structures," we mean that the public, including the U.S. and Europe, cannot know that these assets are ultimately owned by AK. In this article, we will examine the assets he seeks to "hide": yachts.

The yacht named SERENITY AND UNITY (originally SEA & US) was built by the Dutch shipyard Amels and launched in 2018. This yacht is 62.4 meters long, with 6 guest cabins accommodating up to 12 passengers, and crew quarters for 13 crew members. Notable features include a sunbathing deck with a hot tub, ample sunbathing areas, a foldable terrace outside the main salon, and a cruising range of 5,000 nautical miles. Based on information gathered online, the current valuation of this yacht is approximately $70 million (around 500 million RMB), with annual operating costs reaching $7 million (about 50 million RMB), making it unaffordable for anyone who isn't a true billionaire. When AK purchased this yacht, he was already very mindful of its secrecy. Let's see how AK gradually concealed it.