JPMorgan won a court order authorizing the seizure of a Russian oligarch's $75 million superyacht in Gibraltar, report says

• JPMorgan won a court order authorizing seizure of a Russian oligarch's superyacht, Bloomberg said.
• Gibraltar's government told Insider that the bank "is acting pursuant to its mortgage rights."

The investment bank JPMorgan Chase won a court order that authorized the seizure of a Russian oligarch's superyacht in Gibraltar last week, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The government of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory on Spain's south coast, said on March 21 that it had impounded a $75 million yacht owned by the billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky, who was sanctioned by the UK and the European Union over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

JPMorgan won the court order allowing port authorities in Gibraltar to seize the yacht, called Axioma, according to Bloomberg.

"JPMorgan is acting pursuant to its mortgage rights," a spokesperson for the Gibraltar government told Insider. "Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is exercising rights to enforce freezing sanctions also."

JPMorgan declined to comment to Bloomberg. The bank didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

On the day of the seizure, Gibraltar's government said in a statement sent to Insider that the yacht was "confirmed to be the subject of an arrest action by a leading international bank in the Supreme Court of Gibraltar."

The government added that it normally wouldn't have allowed Axioma to enter British territorial waters but that it was permitted "in the interests of creditors with proper claims against the vessel and who seek the assistance of the Admiralty jurisdiction of the Supreme court to enforce such claims."

Pumpyansky, the owner of Russia's biggest steel-pipe maker, TMK, has an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion, according to Forbes. The Gibraltar government told Insider that he was the owner of Axioma, which has two swimming pools, a gym, and a cinema on board, according to SuperYachtFan.

European countries have seized several yachts and other assets belonging to Russian oligarchs, who have been targeted by sanctions aimed at pressuring President Vladimir Putin into withdrawing from the invasion of Ukraine.