South Africa’s governing administration said it has “no reason” to apply sanctions introduced versus Russian tycoon Alexey Mordashov and that his $500 million megayacht is free to dock at its ports.
Mordashov is the most important shareholder in steelmaker Severstal PJSC and was sanctioned by the European Union, the Uk and US after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The mogul’s 465-foot (142-meter) Nord handed north of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, on Tuesday and is predicted to arrive in Cape City on November 9, ship-monitoring information compiled by Bloomberg reveals.
Geordin Hill-Lewis, Cape Town’s mayor and a member of the major opposition Democratic Alliance, on Monday named for the vessel to be denied entry. But the authorities, which in March abstained from a United Nations vote condemning the invasion, turned down the plea.
“South Africa has no lawful obligation to abide by sanctions imposed by the US and EU,” Vincent Magwenya, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesman, instructed reporters Tuesday in Pretoria, the capital. “We have no cause to reduce their entry into South Africa.”
Mordashov, Russia’s 3rd-richest human being, has been in Moscow because the Nord’s before arrival in Hong Kong, a spokesperson for the billionaire claimed very last 7 days. The spokesperson declined to remark on the vessel’s actions.
“South Africa’s obligations with regard to sanctions relate only to individuals that are specifically adopted by the United Nations,” Magwenya reported. “Currently there are no UN-imposed sanctions on the individual particular person.”
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