SA is ‘not obliged’ to block Russian super-yacht

THE South African government was not obliged to deny entry to a superyacht owned by a Russian billionaire who has been subject to sanctions imposed by Western nations, according to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

This follows calls by Cape Town mayor Geordin-Hill Lewis and Western Cape Premier Alan Winde at the weekend to block the arrival of the $500 million (more than R9 billion) vessel belonging to Alexey Mordashov – an iron and steel mining magnate and known ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The 142m superyacht, Nord, left Hong Kong last Thursday and is expected to arrive in Cape Town on November 9, according to tracking data.

Mordashov is among a number of Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the US and EU – but not the UN – for links to Putin after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February this year.

The president’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya told reporters in Pretoria: “South Africa has no legal obligation to abide by sanctions imposed by the US and EU. We have no reason to prevent their entry into South Africa.

“South Africa’s obligations, with respect to sanctions, relate only to those that are specifically adopted by the United Nations. Currently there are no UN-imposed sanctions on the particular individual.”

On Saturday, Hill-Lewis tweeted: “South Africa should not be offering sanctuary to sanctioned Russian oligarchs. We call on @DIRCO_ZA to uphold international sanctions and deny the yacht entry. Putin’s war accomplices are not welcome in Cape Town.”

Winde added that “Cape Town and the Western Cape cannot become a safe haven for Putin’s oligarchs”.

Yesterday Hill-Lewis warned Ramaphosa that South Africa faced grey-listing by not toeing the line with Western sanctions.

He tweeted: “The President who never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. I’m sure those weighing up whether to grey-list South Africa are taking note. We face grey-listing because of our lax approach to money launderers and racketeers, now we can add sanction-dodgers too.”

The South African government, which is a BRICS partner of Russia, said it supports negotiations as a means to resolve the conflict in the Ukraine.