Rich in Russia rush to Maldives, billionaires' boat data shows

The rich Russians are rushing as assets get seized or frozen by foreign powers. At least five superyachts belonging to Russian billionaires were seen cruising around the Maldives.

According to reports, Superyachts belonging to billionaires Victor Rashnikov, Oleg Deripazska, Alexei Mordashov and Andrey Kostin are floating around the island nations.

According to reports, Russians own about 7% to 10% of all superyachts in the world and Maldives, an Indian Ocean island nation, does not have an extradition treaty with the US.

The vessels' arrival in the area comes as sweeping sanctions hit Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. The US Justice department on Wednesday launched the Task Force KleptoCapture to seize assets belonging to sanctioned Russian individuals.

To counter Russia's invasion of Ukraine, leaders in the US, UK and the EU have outlined plans for targeted sanctions against individuals and businesses based in Russia that are linked to supporting the Russian military or that are close to President Vladimir Putin.