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CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Cape Town port is ideally suited to host a $500 million superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov, a South African official said Wednesday, after the country announced its intention to let the vessel dock there despite a bid by the city's mayor to block its entry.
“If you’re parking a $500-million asset, you need it looked after properly,” the official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he's not permitted to speak publicly on the issue. Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said Mordashov has benefited financially from the war in Ukraine and is “an accomplice to the unconscionable crimes committed against Ukrainian civilians.” Hill-Lewis had asked the South African government to block the Nord from docking, eliciting the response from President Ramaphosa's spokesman.