The Russian oligarch, the yacht and art

The public is amazed that 30 "valuable" paintings were confiscated from the yacht "Dilbar" owned by the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov. He has been the focus of investigations for months – for money laundering and tax evasion. The route taken by blue-chip works of art from the largest auction houses to the longest yacht in the world has been fairly direct for many years. Both are not only status symbols of the highest global upper class, the yacht is also perfect for transporting cultural assets to discreet waters and art for money laundering purposes.

Again and again one hears reports such as the failed kidnapping of Pablo Picasso's "Head of a Young Girl", worth 26 million euros, with a yacht in Corsica, although the Spanish law for the protection of cultural property prohibited the export.

One estimate says around 1,000 collectors share the most expensive artworks at Sotheby's and Christie's auctions - and almost all of them love yachts. This includes paintings from 20 million dollars to the most expensive painting ever auctioned, the "Salvator Mundi" for 450 million. The tragic "savior of the world" is probably still waiting for his own museum on the 134-meter-long "Serene" of Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, after previously decorating the "Anna" of the notorious Russian Dmitry Rybolovlev.

Gone are the days when this upper class docked right at the entrance to the Venice Art Biennale. Not only Roman Abramovich was so brazen, but also lesser-known oligarchs like Rashid Sardarov. He earned his money with oil and gas - like so many Russians who have helped art to its devastating prices. 30 works worth a comparatively low five million euros were secured on Usmanow's yacht. A small sum to help war-torn Ukraine. But more will bring all the confiscated oligarch yachts.