A superyacht owned by a Russian multi-millionaire with Maltese citizenship sailed into the Grand Harbour on Friday morning, as the international community presses sanctions on allies of Vladimir Putin.

The 70-metre Polaris is owned by Maxim Shubarev who purchased Maltese citizenship in 2018. 

Sources said he was not personally on board the vessel which is held by Polaris Charters limited, a Malta-based company owned by Shubarev.  

Shubarev, 59, is the chairman of Setl Group, a major Russian construction company based in St Petersburg. 

Maxim Shubarev appears in a photograph with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Online sites estimate he has a net worth of around $500 million.  

The large yacht was pictured docked at the Vittoriosa yacht marina on Friday morning. 

Sanctions target wealthy oligarchs

The EU has issued sanctions against 680 individuals and 53 entities linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Sanctions issued by the West in recent days are meant to target wealthy Russians and limit their movement.  

Shubarev does not appear to be on the list of oligarchs to be sanctioned.  

A closer shot of the superyacht. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

In fact, the Maltese government has said none of the Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the EU so far have Maltese citizenship. 

On Thursday, French and German authorities seized superyachts owned by two sanctioned oligarchs.  A yacht owned by Igor Sechin, the head of Russian state energy company Rosneft, was impounded by French customs officers near Marseille.

Sechin had served as Russia’s deputy prime minister from 2008 to 2012.

German authorities also seized a $600 million vessel owned by Russian metal tycoon Alisher Usmanov. 

In a special address earlier this week, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said European ports must be closed off to the superyachts owned by wealthy Russians.

"Their superyachts should find no harbour in our Europe," she said to applause from MEPs in a session that was also addressed by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.