Tango was built by Feadship in the Netherlands in 2011. Photo / Supplied
Tango was built by Feadship in the Netherlands in 2011. Photo / Supplied
A superyacht in Auckland is understood to be owned by a Russian tycoon who once paid $100 million for the world's greatest collection of Faberge Eggs, and who has been linked to fallout in the United States presidential election.
Ship tracking website Marine Traffic shows the vessel, Tango, motored from Fiji to Auckland.
Viktor Vekselberg has been named as owner of the superyacht which boasts a contra-flow swimming pool, a massage/beauty saloon and a spacious sun deck with an outdoor cinema.
He is one of the richest men in Russia and made his US$16 billion ($23.4b) fortune from aluminium and oil.
The 80m Tango reportedly belongs to Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselber. Photo/Supplied
ABC News in the US quoted one expert on oligarchs as saying there was good reason to probe the role Vekselberg and another billionaire may have played in the 2016 election, given what he says was "a continuous relationship of these oligarchs with Kremlin and security services".
Vekselberg also reportedly donated to Hillary Clinton's election campaign.
In 2004, Vekselberg bought nine jewelled Faberge Imperial Easter eggs given by tsars to family members so they could be returned to Russia, apparently putting him in Russian leader Vladimir Putin's good books.
The website YachtCharterFleet says Tango is just under 80m long, and has accommodation for up to 14 guests in seven cabins, including the master suite. There is a private owners' deck with its own aft seating area, full-beam stateroom and separate study.
A Faberge Imperial Easter Egg, tycoon Viktor Vekselberg bought nine of them.
''Tango has a very characteristic exterior styling, showcasing a unique and contemporary combination of a white hull with a metallic grey and blue superstructure. Her muscular looks are combined with signature lines that bring additional elegance to the overall profile,'' the website says.
It was built in the Netherlands in 2011 by Feadship and has a tender garage and a helipad.
Media-shy Vekselberg, aged 60, reportedly also has two private jets, an Airbus A319 and an Bombardier BD700.
He was born in Ukraine and studied at the Moscow Institute of Railroad Engineering in the 1970s. He became wealthy selling scrap copper from worn-out cables. He led Russia's first successful hostile takeover in 1994, when his Renova firm took control of the Vladimir Tractor Factory.
He is chairman of Renova that has a stake United Co Rusal, Russia's biggest aluminum producer, according to Bloomberg. The Bahamas-based company also owns shares in equipment makers Sulzer and Oerlikon. He owns regional airports in Russia and sold 12.5 per cent of a Russian oil venture for US$7 billion in 2013.
Renova is building an airport in Russia's southern city of Rostov, one of the host cities for the 2018 soccer World Cup.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Renova Group Board Chairman and Skolkovo Foundation President Viktor Vekselberg earlier this year. Photo / Getty Images
It is not known if Vekselberg will be in New Zealand with the yacht but other oligarchs have visited when their superyachts have come to Auckland for work.
in 2014 Motor Yacht A is owned by Belarussian tycoon Andrey Melnichenko and his wife Serbian model Aleksandra came to Auckland and spent time in cruising around New Zealand after the vessel had been refitted here.
The biggest superyacht to visit New Zealand, the 134m Serene, owned by Russian vodka tycoon Yuri Schefler, visited the following summer and he spent time here.
