Authorities Find Suspected Fabergé Egg On Oligarch’s Seized Superyacht

Topline

Federal officials said they have found what appears to be a Fabergé egg on a seized superyacht, according to CNN, one of the more unusual and unexpected artifacts found as governments around the world continue to crack down on Russian oligarchs and those complicit with the invasion of Ukraine.

The Third Faberge Imperial Easter Egg is displayed at Court Jewellers Wartski in London.

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Key Facts

Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said U.S. law enforcement found the egg on a seized superyacht docked in San Diego, according to CNN.

Monaco said the egg is one of the more “interesting” discoveries her team has made in their investigations.

If genuine, Monaco said the egg would be one of last known in the world and worth millions.

Monaco did not state which yacht the egg was found on but did say the vessel had been taken from an oligarch in Fiji last month and sailed to the U.S.

Fiji handed the U.S. a $300 million superyacht, the Amadea, in June after a protracted legal battle over who owned it.

The U.S. claims the yacht is owned by Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who has been targeted by international sanctions over suspected ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin

What To Watch For

Redistributing resources to Ukraine. Monaco said the Justice Department has asked Congress for the authority to give Ukraine proceeds from seized goods, according to CNN. Officials in the EU and U.K. are mulling similar policies, particularly as the war drags on into its sixth month and costs mount.

Key Background

The U.S. and other governments around the world have seized billions of dollars’ worth of assets from those sanctioned over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The murky ownership of assets, particularly large ones like yachts and jets, can help the super rich stall proceedings or evade sanctions entirely, something initially exploited with the Amadea (the yacht’s lawyer claimed it is owned by a different oligarch, Eduard Khudainatov, who has not been sanctioned). Finding a Fabergé egg, if authenticated, is both a symbolic and monetary coup. The decorative eggs were made specifically for the Russian Imperial family by famed jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé. Only a few dozen were created and not all survived and the rare items can sell for millions when they do come to market.

Tangent

This is not the first time a Fabergé egg has been caught up in Russian sanctions. London’s V&A museum had borrowed Fabergé eggs and other items from Russian institutions for an exhibition on the jeweler and faced breaching international sanctions if it returned the objects. Government ministers were working on whether they could be returned without compromising sanctions.

Forbes Valuation

$12.9 billion. That’s the estimated net worth of Kerimov and his family, according to Forbes’ real-time tracker. A large portion of Kerimov’s wealth comes from his 76% stake in Polyus, Russia’s biggest gold producer.