Ex-KGB spy’s £120m superyacht once used by Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez is seized in Spain over Ukraine invasion

A FORMER KGB spy has had his £120 million superyacht seized by the Spanish Government over the invasion of Ukraine. Sergey Chemezov’s yacht Valerie which was used by Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez last summer in a romantic getaway has been temporarily seized in Barcelona. ReutersSuperyacht Valerie was seized from Barcelona[/caption] JLo and Ben Affleck used the superyacht last July GettyRussian Sergey Chemezov is an ex-KGB officer[/caption] The pair had celebrated Jlo’s 52nd birthday on the superyacht in St Tropez last July. And now the boat has been seized after two sources said the 279-foot vessel belonged to the head of Russian state conglomerate Rostec and an ally of Vladimir Putin. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on La Sexta television: “Today we seized – the technical term is provisionally immobilised – a yacht belonging to one of the principal oligarchs. “We are talking about a yacht that we estimate is worth $140 million.” He added that “there will be more” without elaborating further. READ MORE ON UKRAINE According to monitoring site Marine Traffic, the yacht has been in Barcelona since February 9 and was under repair until Monday. It will remain under detention while Spanish authorities confirm its ownership and whether they feature on any list of sanctions targets, a government source said. The West has rolled out sanctions on Russian oligarchs since the country’s invasion of Ukraine in a bid to cripple Putin’s economy. This has caused a large number of oligarchs to move their assets – including their yachts. Most read in The Sun 'SEE YA!' Emmerdale shock as Mackenzie Boyd quits the village OH MAN I’m average-looking but my man is insanely hot - people ask if I’m self-conscious MUM'S THE WORD Lewis Hamilton changing his NAME for new F1 season in sweet tribute to mum Linda Sob-son Linda Robson breaks down in tears live on Loose Women after turning 64 MUM’S HORROR I'm sharing photos of my baby boy so no other parents have to endure our hell CHILLING WARNING Russia tests 7,000mph hypersonic missile that could hit London in 5mins The owner of the world’s largest sailing yacht had his £450million boat seized after he joined Roman Abramovich on the sanctions list. Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko had his £450million boat seized by Italian authorities at the northern port of Trieste last week. Roman Abramovich who has been banned from selling Chelsea after, had his assets frozen and blocked from visiting or doing business in Britain.  His superyacht was spotted docking in Montenegro last week My Solaris, worth £430million, was spotted in Tivat, Montenegro this morning after several Russian tycoons appeared to be moving their plush boats to safe havens amid sanctions over the Ukraine invasion. Abramovich, who owns Chelsea FC, appears to have moved both of his superyachts including Solaris, which boasts its own helipad and missile detection system, and Eclipse, worth £672m. The Eclipse was last seen in the Caribbean sailing away from St Martin, but now appears to be heading though the Strait of Gibraltar – potentially heading towards the Solaris. Read More on The Sun Another Russian oligarch, Alisher Usmanov, had his 500ft long superyacht seized earlier this month. The tycoon, who sponsored Everton FC, had his £600million luxury vessel was confiscated by German authorities Igorevich Melnichenko was seized by Italian authorities , Alisher Usmanov’s superyacht was seized earlier this month Help those fleeing conflict with The Sun’s Ukraine Fund PICTURES of women and children fleeing the horror of Ukraine’s devastated towns and cities have moved Sun readers to tears. Many of you want to help the five million caught in the chaos — and now you can, by donating to The Sun’s Ukraine Fund. Give as little as £3 or as much as you can afford and every penny will be donated to the Red Cross on the ground helping women, children, the old, the infirm and the wounded. Donate here to help The Sun’s fund Or text to 70141 from UK mobiles £3 — text SUN£3£5 — text SUN£5£10 — text SUN£10 Texts cost your chosen donation amount (e.g. £5) +1 standard message (we receive 100%). For full T&Cs visit redcross.org.uk/mobile The Ukraine Crisis Appeal will support people in areas currently affected and those potentially affected in the future by the crisis. In the unlikely event that the British Red Cross raise more money than can be reasonably and efficiently spent, any surplus funds will be used to help them prepare for and respond to other humanitarian disasters anywhere in the world. For more information visit https://donate.redcross.org.uk/appeal/disaster-fund