On Feb. 24, as Russian troops poured into Ukraine on Day 1 of the invasion, an employee for a yacht management company sent an email to the captain of the Amadea, a $325 million superyacht: “Importance: High”.
The family of a Russian oligarch under sanctions had spent much of January and February cruising from island to island in the Caribbean and had some questions and concerns. When would be a good time to visit New Zealand? Bali?
Could the yacht get a special boat to pull water skiers? And would the staff of the Amadea please stop folding napkins in triangles? “Guests don’t like it”, wrote the employee, Victoria Pastukhova, a “client coordinator” for the company, Imperial Yachts.
At Imperial Yachts, no detail is too small to sweat. Based in Monaco, with a staff of about 100 — plus 1,200 to 1,500 crew members aboard yachts — the company caters to oligarchs whose fortunes turn on the decisions of President Vladimir V. Putin. Imperial Yachts and its Moscow-born founder...
English (US) ·