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Arrest and Criminal Charges Announced Against British and Russian Businessmen for Facilitating Sanctions Evasion of Russian Oligarch’s $90 Million Yacht

Two businessmen, Vladislav Osipov, 51, a Russian national, and Richard Masters, 52, a United Kingdom national, are charged in separate indictments unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, with facilitating a sanctions evasion and money laundering scheme in relation to the ownership and operation of the Motor Yacht (M/Y) Tango (International Maritime Organization number 1010703), a $90 million, 255-foot luxury yacht owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. The defendants are charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit offenses against the United States, violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), and money laundering. The United States requested that the Kingdom of Spain provisionally arrest Masters for purposes of extradition. The arrest was executed by the Spanish Guardia Civil today. An arrest warrant against Osipov is outstanding.

“Today’s indictments and the arrest executed by Spanish law enforcement demonstrate the FBI’s continued focus on tracking down and holding accountable those who assist sanctioned Russian oligarchs,” said FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate. “The FBI, along with our international partners, will continue to aggressively investigate and pursue anyone who facilitates the corrupt practices of others, placing our institutions at risk.” 

“Facilitators of sanctions evasion enable the oligarchs supporting Vladimir Putin’s regime to flout U.S. law. The United States will not allow its financial institutions and persons to be manipulated or defrauded for the purposes of benefitting those supporting an illegal war,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia.

“The Department of Justice has been clear. Corporations and executives have a choice: they can participate in the global effort to uproot corruption, sanctions violations, and money laundering, and enjoy the benefits of prompt and fulsome cooperation; or they can, as Osipov and Masters are alleged to have done, attempt to shield themselves and their clients behind a veil of fraud,” said Director Andrew Adams of Task Force KleptoCapture. “These men made their decisions, and now face the consequences of a failed attempt to profit through, rather than standing against, a sophisticated, transnational criminal enterprise.”

“Russian oligarchs are the product of an ecosystem of corruption that abuses rule-of-law-based monetary structures to enrich themselves with the luxury trappings and lifestyles that everyday people only dream of – all the while as thousands of Ukrainians are homeless due to Russia’s unlawful invasion,” said Special Agent in Charge Ivan J. Arvelo of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York Field Office. “As stewards of the American financial system, HSI will not stand idly by as U.S. dollars are used by oligarch criminal networks to operate and maintain these high value symbols of corruption. Last year, working with our partners at the Justice Department and FBI, we removed the yacht Tango from an oligarch’s portfolio and with today’s actions we have followed through on our promise of accountability to those that conduct illicit financial transactions on behalf of the oligarchs. The message is clear: Putin’s cronies will find no succor in their riches and those that illegally enable such lifestyles will be called to justice.”

“The indictment alleges that both defendants used a variety of techniques to mask ownership of the Motor Yacht Tango in violation of U.S. law,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston of the FBI Minneapolis Field Office. “Together with the Justice Department’s KleptoCapture Task Force, the FBI will hold accountable those who assist Russian Oligarchs in their efforts to hide assets and violate sanctions. We thank our international partners who helped facilitate the arrest of Richard Masters in Spain earlier today."

According to the indictment, despite U.S. sanctions issued against Vekselberg in April 2018, Osipov and Masters facilitated the operation of Tango through the use of U.S. companies and the U.S. financial system, attempting to obfuscate Vekselberg’s involvement in the vessel. Osipov, an employee of Vekselberg who functioned as a property manager for Tango, designed a complicated ownership structure of shell companies to hide Vekselberg’s ownership of the yacht, despite that Vekselberg designed the yacht, was the sole user, and was the ultimate beneficial owner.

As alleged, Masters ran a yacht management company in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. After Vekselberg was sanctioned in April 2018, Masters’s company took over the management of Tango, and conspired with others to evade the U.S. sanctions. According to the indictment, among other things, Masters devised a scheme to use a false name for the yacht, “the Fanta,” in order to hide from financial institutions that payments in U.S. dollars were ultimately for the benefit of Tango and Vekselberg. As a result of this obfuscation, U.S. financial institutions processed hundreds of thousands of dollars of transactions for Tango that they otherwise would not have permitted had they known of Vekselberg’s involvement in the financial transaction. Further, these payments and Vekselberg’s involvement therein were not reported to the Department of the Treasury.

Additionally, according to the indictment, Osipov and Masters advised and enabled Tango employees to continue to do business with numerous U.S. companies, using various workarounds to avoid sanctions, such as payments in other currencies and through third parties. As a result of these schemes, the working mechanisms of Tango, to include its internet, technology, weather forecasting and computing systems, as well as the trappings of Tango, including its satellite television, luxury goods, and teleconferencing software, were all U.S.-origin products and services supplied by U.S. companies, for the benefit of Vekselberg. The efforts of these facilitators permitted Tango to continue to operate as a luxury yacht with the full array of services and luxury goods available to it, supported by hundreds of thousands of dollars of illegally-obtained U.S. services and U.S. financial transactions, and all for the benefit of Vekselberg.

On April 4, 2022, Spanish law enforcement executed a Spanish court order freezing Tango. The Spanish acted following a request from the Department of Justice that it assist with the execution of a seizure warrant, issued in March 2022 by the  U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which alleged that Tango was subject to forfeiture based on violations of U.S. bank fraud, money laundering, and sanctions statutes.

The FBI Minneapolis Field Office is investigating the case. Valuable assistance has been provided by the HSI New York Field Office and the Spanish Guardia Civil - Jefatura de Informacion – Unidad Central Especial Numero III (UCE-III).

Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen P. Seifert, with valuable assistance provided by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rajbir Datta and Maeghan Mikorski, Paralegals Brian Rickers and Jorge Casillas, and Legal Assistant Jessica McCormick, all of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in working with the Spanish authorities throughout this matter.

The case has been coordinated through the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force dedicated to enforcing the sweeping sanctions, export restrictions, and economic countermeasures that the United States has imposed, along with its allies and partners, in response to Russia’s unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Announced by the Attorney General on March 2, 2022, and under the leadership of the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, the task force will leverage all the Department’s tools and authorities against efforts to evade or undermine the economic actions taken by the U.S. government in response to Russian military aggression.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Questions for Investigators Trying to Unravel Mystery of Luxury Yacht’s Sinking

The investigators searching for answers about the shipwreck, leaving seven dead, face questions about extreme weather and possible human error or problems with the yacht itself.

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By Alan Yuhas

More than 180 feet long, with a mast towering about 240 feet and a keel that could be lowered for greater stability, the Bayesian luxury yacht did not, in the eyes of its maker, have the vulnerabilities of a ship that would easily sink.

“It drives me insane,” Giovanni Costantino, the chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which in 2022 bought the company that made the ship, said after its wreck last week. “Following all the proper procedures, that boat is unsinkable.”

But the $40 million sailing yacht sank within minutes and with fatal results: seven dead, including the British technology billionaire Michael Lynch, his teenage daughter, four of Mr. Lynch’s friends and a member of the crew. Fifteen people, including the captain, escaped on a lifeboat.

Mr. Lynch had invited family, friends and part of his legal team on a cruise in the Mediterranean to celebrate his acquittal in June of fraud charges tied to the sale of his company to the tech giant Hewlett-Packard.

The Italian authorities have opened a manslaughter investigation, searching for answers from the survivors, the manufacturer and the wreck itself. They face a range of questions and possible factors.

An ‘earthquake’ in the sky?

When the Bayesian sank around 4 a.m. on Aug. 19, the waters in its area, about half a mile off the Sicilian port of Porticello, were transformed by an extremely sudden and violent storm, according to fishermen, a captain in the area and meteorologists.

But what kind of storm is still a mystery, compounded by the fact that a sailing schooner anchored nearby did not have its own disaster. Also unclear is whether the crew was aware that the Italian authorities had issued general warnings about bad weather the night before.

Karsten Börner, the captain of the nearby passenger ship, said he’d had to steady his ship during “really violent” winds . During the storm, he said, the Bayesian seemed to disappear behind his ship.

Severe lightning and strong gusts were registered by the Italian Air Force’s Center for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology, according to Attilio Di Diodato, its director. “It was very intense and brief in duration,” he said.

The yacht, he said, had most likely been hit by a fierce downburst — a blast of powerful wind surging down during a thunderstorm. His agency put out rough-sea warnings the previous evening, alerting sailors about possible storms.

Locals have said the winds “felt like an earthquake.” A fisherman in Porticello said that he had seen a flare go off in the early-morning hours. His brother ventured to the site once the weather had calmed about 20 minutes later, he said, finding only floating cushions.

The Italian authorities have so far declined to say whether investigators had seen any structural damage to the hull or other parts of the ship.

Open hatches or doors?

The boat executive, Mr. Costantino, has argued that the Bayesian was an extremely safe vessel that could list even to 75 degrees without capsizing. His company, the Italian Sea Group, in 2022 bought the yacht’s manufacturer, Perini Navi, which launched the ship in 2008.

Mr. Costantino said that if some of the hatches on the side and in the stern, or some of the deck doors, had been open, the boat could have taken on water and sunk. Standard procedure in such storms, he said, would be to switch on the engine, lift the anchor and turn the boat into the wind, lowering the keel for extra stability, closing doors and gathering the guests in the main hall inside the deck.

At a news conference on Saturday, almost a week after the sinking, investigators said the yacht had sunk at an angle , with its stern — where the heavy engine was — having gone down first. The wreck was found lying on its right side at the bottom of a bay, about 165 feet deep.

12 guests occupied the yacht’s six cabins. There were also 10 crew members.

Open hatches, doors and cabin windows could have let in water during a storm, according to the manufacturer.

Open hatches, doors and

cabin windows could

have let in water

during a storm,

according to the

manufacturer.

Source: Superyacht Times, YachtCharterFleet, MarineTraffic

By Veronica Penney

Water pouring into open hatches or doors could have contributed to the sinking, experts say, but that on its own may not account for the speed at which such a large boat vanished underwater.

Asked about the hatches at the news conference, the authorities declined to comment on whether they had been found open at the wreck.

The authorities have also not specified whether the boat had been anchored, whether it was under power at the time or whether its sails had been unfurled.

A retracted keel?

The Bayesian had a keel — the fin-like structure beneath a boat that can help stabilize it — that could be retracted or extended, according to its manufacturer. On some yachts, keels can be raised to let the large vessel dock in shallower water, and extended downward to help keep a boat level.

But like the hatches, the status of the keel alone may not explain why a large ship sank with such precipitous speed. Investigators have not disclosed what divers may have seen at the wreck, aside from saying divers had faced obstacles like furnishings and electrical wiring in tight quarters. Officials want to raise the wreck to better examine it, a process that may take weeks.

Human error?

Ambrogio Cartosio, the prosecutor in charge of the case, said at the news conference that it was “plausible” crimes had been committed, but that investigators had not zeroed in on any potential suspects.

“There could be responsibilities of the captain only,” he said. “There could be responsibilities of the whole crew. There could be responsibilities of the boat makers. Or there could be responsibilities of those who were in charge of surveilling the boat.”

It remains unclear what kind of emergency training or preparation took place before the disaster, or what kind of coordination there was during it. So far, none of the surviving crew members have made a public statement about what happened the night the ship sank.

Prosecutors said they want to ask more questions of the captain and crew, who have been in a Sicilian hotel with other survivors. They said that neither alcohol nor drug tests had been performed on crew members, and that they have been allowed to leave Italy.

Prosecutors also said they were also investigating why the captain, an experienced sailor, left the sinking boat while some passengers were still on board.

Besides possible manslaughter charges, the authorities are investigating the possibility of a negligently caused shipwreck.

The bodies of five passengers were found in one cabin, on the left side of the yacht, the authorities said. The five were most likely trying to flee to the higher side of the boat and were probably sleeping when the boat started to sink, they said.

Video shows moments before superyacht went down in storm off Sicily

Newly released video captures a luxury superyacht being battered by a violent storm before it suddenly sank off Sicily with 22 people aboard Monday.

The grainy images obtained by NBC News and other outlets were recorded on closed-circuit television not far from where the Bayesian was anchored, about a half-mile from the port of Porticello, on Sicily’s northern coast .

The yacht's 250-foot mast, illuminated with lights and lashed by the storm, appears to bend to one side before it finally disappears and is replaced by darkness.

The speed with which a yacht built to handle the roughest seas capsized stunned maritime experts.  

“I can’t remember the last time I read about a vessel going down quickly like that, you know, completely capsizing and going down that quickly, a vessel of that nature, a yacht of that size,” said Stephen Richter of SAR Marine Consulting.

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and five of the 22 other people who were aboard the 184-foot vessel remain unaccounted for and are believed to be trapped in the Bayesian’s hull, nearly 170 feet underwater.

Officials confirmed Monday that at least one person, the ship’s cook, had died.  

Superyachts like the Bayesian, which had been available for charters at a rate of $215,000 a week, are designed to stay afloat even as they are taking on water to give the people aboard a chance to escape, Richter said. 

“Boats of this size, they’re taking passengers on an excursion or a holiday,” Richter said. “They are not going to put them in situations where it may be dangerous or it may be uncomfortable, so this storm that popped up was obviously an anomaly. These vessels that carry passengers, they’re typically very well-maintained, very well-appointed.”

Built by Italian shipbuilder Perini Navi in 2008, the U.K.-registered Bayesian could carry 12 guests and a crew of up to 10, according to online specialist yacht sites. Its nearly 250-foot mast is the tallest aluminum sailing mast in the world, according to CharterWorld Luxury Yacht Charters. 

On Tuesday, Italian rescue workers resumed the search for Lynch and the five other passengers still missing: Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah; Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife; and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife.

“The fear is that the bodies got trapped inside the vessel,” Salvatore Cocina, the head of civil protection in Sicily, told Reuters .

The Bayesian is owned by a firm linked to Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who was one of the 15 people rescued Monday after it capsized.

“It’s extremely rare for a boat of this size to sink,” Richter said.

What’s not rare is the kind of storm that sank it , said Simon Boxall, senior lecturer in oceanography at Britain’s University of Southampton.

“People assume the Mediterranean is this rather calm and passive place that never gets storms and always blue skies,” Boxall said. “In fact, you get some quite horrendous storms that are not uncommon at this time of year.”

The president of Italy’s meteorological society has said Monday’s violent storm may have involved a waterspout, essentially a tornado over water, or a downburst, which occurs more frequently but doesn’t involve the rotation of the air.

Luca Mercalli, president of the Italian Meteorology Society, also said recent temperatures may have been a factor. 

“The sea surface temperature around Sicily was around 30 degrees Celsius [86 Fahrenheit], which is almost 3 degrees more than normal,” Mercalli told Reuters. “This creates an enormous source of energy that contributes to these storms.”

The Mediterranean sailing vacation was designed to be a celebration for Lynch, who two months ago was acquitted by a San Francisco jury of fraud charges stemming from the 2011 sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion.

Prosecutors alleged that Lynch, dubbed “Britain’s Bill Gates,” and Autonomy’s vice president for finance, Stephen Chamberlain, had padded the firm’s finances ahead of the sale. Lynch’s lawyers argued that HP was so eager to acquire Autonomy that it failed to adequately check the books .

Lynch had taken Morvill, who was one of his defense attorneys, on the luxury trip. 

Chamberlain was not on the Bayesian.

In what appears to be a tragic coincidence, a car struck and killed Chamberlain on Saturday as he was jogging in a village about 68 miles north of London, local police said.

“Steve fought successfully to clear his good name at trial earlier this year, and his good name now lives on through his wonderful family,” Chamberlain’s lawyer, Gary Lincenberg, said in a statement .

Henry Austin reported from London and Corky Siemaszko from New York City.

Henry Austin is a senior editor for NBC News Digital based in London.

Corky Siemaszko is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital.

Two More Crew Members From Lynch's Yacht Under Investigation

Two More Crew Members From Lynch's Yacht Under Investigation

FILE PHOTO: Rescue personnel operate in search for the missing, including British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, in the area where a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, August 21, 2024. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/File Photo

PALERMO, Italy (Reuters) -Italian prosecutors are investigating two more crew members from British tech tycoon Mike Lynch's yacht, along with its captain, in connection with the vessel's sinking over a week ago, a judicial source said on Wednesday.

Being investigated does not imply guilt and does not mean formal charges will follow.

Lynch and six other people were killed when the British-flagged Bayesian, a 56-metre-long (184-foot) yacht, capsized and went down on Aug. 19 within minutes of being hit by a pre-dawn storm while anchored off northern Sicily.

On Monday, the boat's 51-year-old captain James Cutfield, a New Zealander, was put under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck. Cutfield declined to respond to prosecutors during questioning on Tuesday.

Ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith are being investigated over the same crimes, the source said, adding that Parker Eaton is suspected of having failed to protect the yacht's engine room and operating systems.

Griffith was on watch duty on the night of the incident, the source said. He flew out of Palermo late on Wednesday, with the source saying he was heading for the French city of Nice.

Those under investigation have no obligation to stay in Italy but have to nominate lawyers so that the authorities have a way of remaining in contact with them.

Four other crew members, who have not been placed under investigation, left Palermo, with two of them heading for Dubai and the other two travelling to Istanbul.

The sinking has puzzled naval marine experts, who said a vessel like the Bayesian, built by Italian high-end yacht manufacturer Perini, should have withstood the storm and, in any case, should not have sunk as quickly as it did.

Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, near Palermo, have said their investigation would take time, and would require the wreck to be salvaged from the sea. The Bayesian is lying on its right side, at a depth of around 50 metres (164 feet).

(Reporting by Wladimiro Pantaleone, writing by Cristina Carlevaro, editing by Alvise Armellini, Bernadette Baum and Diane Craft)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

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The Captain of the Sunken Italian Yacht is Under Investigation. Is He Responsible for the Tragedy? (Exclusive)

James Cutfield is under investigation in connection with the yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily, claiming seven lives

PERINI NAVI PRESS OFFICE/HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

The captain of a sunken Italian yacht is under investigation after the accident off the coast of Sicily last week that killed seven people and left 15 survivors . 

New Zealand-born James Cutfield, 50, was chief officer of the British-flagged yacht Bayesian , which sank during a storm in the Tyrrhenian Sea near the Sicilian port of Porticello on Monday, Aug. 19. 

He has been questioned several times by Italian authorities, a source close to the investigation previously told PEOPLE. Police have opened manslaughter and negligent shipwreck investigations in connection with the sinking, per Ambrogio Cartosio, the Chief Prosecutor of Termini Imerese.

Despite investigators’ focus on him, his actual culpability for the tragedy remains uncertain, as Italian attorney and legal expert Praxilla Trabattoni explains in this Q & A. (Trabattoni is also a contributing writer for PEOPLE). 

What does the interrogation of Cutfield mean?

Cutfield’s questioning does not immediately imply that he will be tried, Trabattoni says, given that this kind of investigation is commonplace for such incidents. 

This and similar cases require a preliminary investigation in which authorities notify parties involved so that they can appoint their own forensic experts and legal teams to participate in investigations, including, in this case, the autopsies of the victims. 

Is Cutfield under arrest?

While Cutfield is being investigated for negligent shipwreck and manslaughter , he is not under arrest. For a pre-trial arrest — as happened in the 2007 Amanda Knox case — there are certain criterion the prosecutors have to meet.

“First, the crime should foresee a sentencing of no less than five years,” Trabattoni says. “Secondly, there needs to be a serious indication of guilt.”

Third, she says, prosecutors would have to have concerns that the purported defendant is at risk of tampering with evidence or is a flight risk or could commit a similar crime. 

HANDOUT/Vigili del Fuoco/AFP via Getty

Is there a precedent for a case like this?

This kind of investigation is not entirely unchartered territory.

Trabattoni notes similarities with the 2012 capsizing of Costa Concordia off the Tuscan island of Giglio, which killed 32 and left 4,200 survivors , as previously reported by the Associated Press and BBC.

Francesco Schettino, the captain of that ship, was later sentenced to 16 years in prison on charges similar to the ones Cutfield is possibly facing, per the outles. The search and rescue of the Bayesian is being conducted by the same crew that assisted with the Costa Concordia disaster, she says.

But there's a long way to go before Cutfield could meet a similar fate - including a bulletproof case from prosecutors.

How could authorities prove the captain's guilt?

Prosecutors have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the actions or omissions of the captain caused or contributed to the tragedy, Trabattoni says. They can do so by examining the boat and seeing if survivor and witness accounts are consistent with the physical evidence they find. 

For example, if the captain had heard that there was a weather alert and he failed to deploy the stabilizer, or if he decided not to go into a port that would have been provided a safe haven, or if he didn’t ensure that all the doors were shut during the night. These constitute behavior that would have contributed to the tragedy, Trabattoni says.

Prosecutors also have a legal obligation not only to look for evidence against the party, but also in favor of the defendant, requiring a diligent investigation of the case, she says.

FABIO LA BIANCA/BAIA Santa Nicolicchia/AFP via Getty

What Could Cutfield Argue in His Defense?

The captain has to prove that he behaved and maintained his duties and obligations both during the tragedy and after, says Trabattoni. There's also the question, Was there anything he could've done to save lives?

He could also claim that it was an unforeseeable and unpredictable weather phenomenon and there was nothing he could've done to avoid a disaster, she says. He could also claim that there was design or manufacturer flaw in the vessel.

Are other surviving crew members culpable?

Several crew members are now expected to be placed under investigation, local news outlets  Rai ,  Adnkronos  and  Sky Italia  report. One of them is the  first mate of the yacht, Tijs Koopman , who has been asked to not leave the Sicilian city of Palermo so that he can be questioned, per  Corriere della Sera  and TV channel TG La7.

“What often happens, and what happened in the Costa Concordia case, is that those further down the pecking order will cut deals and explain everything that happened,” Trabattoni says. This usually implies the captain would get most of the blame and, in turn, a harsher sentencing, she adds. 

“Maritime law dictates that the captain is in charge and responsible for the boat, crew and all the people sailing with him so the ultimate responsibility and liability lies with him,” she says. 

The accident claimed the lives of several high-profile individuals. They have been identified by authorities as British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and his daughter, Hannah Lynch; the yacht's chef Recaldo Thomas; prominent New York attorney   Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda , and Morgan Stanley International chairman  Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy .

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for  PEOPLE's  free True Crime newsletter  for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

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Mastercraft boat's q4 earnings beat estimates, stock down.

MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc. MCFT reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 results, with earnings and revenues beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate. However, the top and the bottom line declined on a year-over-year basis. Following the results, the stock dropped 6% during trading hours on Aug 29. Negative investor sentiments were witnessed as the company reported lower-than-expected demand activity at the retail level. Management stated concerns about elevated interest rates and lingering competitor dealer disruptions.

Earnings & Revenue Details

During the fiscal fourth quarter, the company reported an adjusted loss per share of 4 cents narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 22 cents. In the prior-year quarter, MCFT reported an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.37.

MASTERCRAFT BOAT HOLDINGS, INC. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

MASTERCRAFT BOAT HOLDINGS, INC. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | MASTERCRAFT BOAT HOLDINGS, INC. Quote

Quarterly revenues of $67.2 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $64 million by 5.5%. However, the top line declined 59.7% on a year-over-year basis. The downside was primarily caused by lower unit volume and unfavorable model mix and options. During the fiscal fourth quarter, net sales in the MasterCraft segment came in at $44.4 million compared with $129.3 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Net sales in the Pontoon segment declined 59.8% year over year to $9.9 million. During the quarter, revenues from the Aviara segment increased 2.3% year over year to $12.9 million.

Operating Highlights

During the fiscal fourth quarter, Selling and marketing expenses declined 5.5% year over year to $2.9 million. General and administrative expenses came in at $7 million compared with 10.2 million reported in the prior-year quarter.

Gross margin during the quarter declined 1360 basis points year over year to 12.2%. The downside was primarily driven by lower cost absorption resulting from planned reductions in unit volume and an unfavorable mix of models and options. However, this was partially offset by increased pricing.

Adjusted EBITDA during the quarter came in at $0.8 million compared with $32.7 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin in the fiscal fourth quarter came in at 1.3% compared with 19.6% reported in the year-ago period.

Balance Sheet

As of June 30, 2024, cash and cash equivalents totaled $7.4 million compared with $19.8 million on June 30, 2023. Inventory during the quarter came in at $44.3 million compared with $58.3 million reported in the prior-year period. As of June 30, long-term debt (net of unamortized debt issuance costs) stood at $44.9 million compared with $49.3 million reported in the prior-year quarter.

Fiscal 2024 Highlights

Total revenues in the fiscal 2024 amounted to $366.6 million compared with $662 million in the fiscal 2023.

Adjusted EBITDA in the fiscal 2024 came in at $32.9 million compared with $131.5 million in the fiscal 2023. In the fiscal 2024, adjusted EPS came in at $1.22 per share compared with $5.35 reported in the previous year.

Fiscal 2025 Outlook

For first-quarter fiscal 2025, the company expects net sales to be approximately $61 million. During the quarter, adjusted EBITDA is anticipated at approximately $2 million. During the fiscal first quarter, the company expects adjusted EPS to be approximately 4 cents. For the fiscal 2025, the company expects net sales to be $265-$300 million. The company expects adjusted EBITDA to be $15-$26 million. Capital expenditures during the year are projected at $12 million. The company expects adjusted EPS to be between 36 cents and 87 cents in the fiscal 2025.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

MasterCraft Boat currently has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the Zacks Consumer Discretionary sector are: Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. RCL currently sports a Zacks Rank of 1 (Strong Buy). RCL has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 18.5%, on average. The stock has rallied 68.7% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RCL’s 2024 sales and EPS calls for growth of 18.1% and 69.9%, respectively, from the year-ago levels. DoubleDown Interactive Co., Ltd. DDI currently flaunts a Zacks Rank of 1. DDI has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 22.1%, on average. The stock has surged 48.1% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DDI’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates an increase of 12.6% and 15.8%, respectively, from the year-ago levels. Monarch Casino & Resort, Inc. MCRI carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). MCRI has a trailing four-quarter negative earnings surprise of 3.5%, on average. The stock has increased 11.8% in the past year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MCRI’s 2024 sales and EPS indicates an increase of 2.3% and 10%, respectively, from the year-ago levels.

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Bank fraud charges announced in connection to Russian-owned superyacht Tango

The United States Department of Justice has announced five new counts of bank fraud against Russian national Vladislav Osipov, in addition to charges previously lodged concerning the ownership and operation of the 77.7-metre Tango . Sanctions were placed against the alleged owner of the yacht, Russian businessman Viktor Vekselberg, by the United States (US) in April 2018.

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Richard Masters avoids extradition

After a lengthy legal dispute, the high court in Madrid rejected the request from the District of Columbia…

It takes two to tango

The arrest of Richard Masters and Vladislav Osipov for facilitating sanctions evasion has sent shockwaves through the industry…

The Balearics head to the US

Balearic Yacht Destination will be making its debut at FLIBS 2017…

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‘Master and Margarita or, the Devil Comes to Moscow’ Review: Staging a Soviet Satire

The phrase “all hell broke loose” has a hackneyed ring by now, but it comes close to being a literal description of the crazy-quilt narrative of Mikhail Bulgakov’s surrealist novel “The Master and Margarita,” which features, among other mad highlights, a midnight ball hosted by the Devil, whose exclusive guest list consists of infamous murderers from throughout history.

The novel, written between 1928 and 1940 and published posthumously, has become a celebrated classic, despite the sprawling, digression-dangling plot, which, while mostly set in 20th-century Moscow, also includes chapters depicting the persecution and death of Jesus at the (in this case, deeply ambivalent) behest of Pontius Pilate. It would take a theater company of endless resources—a fantastical one, in other words, practically ripped from the pages of the book—to fully flesh out the tale’s swirling complexity. With its shape-shifting characters, including a talking cat, who sometimes disappear into thin air or take flight, with or without broomsticks, it would seem to be more naturally adaptable on film. (A Russian-made movie released earlier this year topped that country’s box office, while also drawing ire from supporters of Vladimir Putin.)

So, full points for ambition to Theater 86, formerly known as the Russian Arts Theater, a small company mounting a scrappy but lively production of the Belgian-American playwright and adapter Jean-Claude van Itallie’s version, which the company first presented in 2017. If the staging lacks the polish a more well-heeled company might achieve, it’s also true that such companies would probably shy away from the daunting task of bringing Bulgakov’s head-spinningly strange universe to life.

The director, Aleksey Burago, takes the stage before the show to issue a pointed and amusing warning: The titular characters, the Master (Mark Simmons), a despairing would-be novelist, and his beloved, the unhappily married Margarita (Di Zhu), will not be making their appearances until the second act. (Those unfamiliar with the book would be advised to read the synopsis in the online program.)

The first act is taken up with a cascading series of strange events that begin when the poet Ivan, played with feverish intensity by Obid, and Berlioz (Michael Donaldson), the editor of a literary magazine, are accosted by a friendly-seeming fellow, Woland (Tom Schubert), who horns in—pun unintended—on their philosophical debate about the existence, or not, of God, and by extension the Devil.

Woland, portrayed with vulpine charisma by Mr. Schubert, does not reveal himself to be the very Devil himself, but bizarrely alludes to Berlioz’s imminent death. When it gruesomely comes to pass in precisely the circumstances Woland predicted, the rattled Ivan becomes unhinged, streaking almost naked through the streets, trying to warn of the terrible powers of this malevolent stranger.

While Berlioz and Ivan are Woland’s first victims, he and his assistants—that talking cat, Behemoth (a funny, sniping Sarah O’Donnell); the plaid-clad Koroviev (Ariel Polanco, clomping around in giant platform boots); Azazello (a vividly nasty Can Deniz Erzaim); and the comely Hella (Ms. Zhu, in a Cher-worthy bodysuit and flaming red wig)—take up residence in Berlioz’s now-vacated apartment and begin their maliciously inventive assault upon the citizenry of Moscow. This is chiefly centered on a black-magic performance that hilariously sends virtually all of the theater’s staff on fast-tracks to the madhouse, or at least out of the city.

These unruly antics are staged with as much economy as is possible by Mr. Burago, although even those familiar with the outlines of the narrative may find themselves panting to keep up. And meanwhile, back in biblical times, the Jesus figure, called Yeshua, and played by Mr. Erzaim with a little too much arm-waving and mystic-prophetic exhortation (he’s a more modest and endearingly naïve figure in the book), heads toward his well-known destination, despite the misgivings of Pontius Pilate, portrayed by Mr. Simmons with an apt sense of exhaustion; he’s unsettled at the thought of executing this seemingly harmless if mad figure.

Enter, at last, the Master and Margarita. He had disappeared (also into the madhouse), leaving her distraught and susceptible to the promise of Azazello to reunite them, if she’s willing to join in the gang’s evil antics. Ms. Zhu’s Margarita exudes a wariness at first. Later, once she has donned another Bob Mackie-style bodysuit and become a witch, Ms. Zhu radiates a livelier, even gleefully enterprising spirit.

The set features colorful paintings by Valery Yershov that give varied perspectives on Moscow’s architecture, dominated by a rendering of the Kremlin at the back of the stage. Props are necessarily minimal, and employed with invention to depict the varied settings. The costumes, by Ms. Zhu and Ms. O’Donnell, are an eclectic array, with Woland’s natty lavender suit and bejeweled loafers and Ms. Zhu’s spangled, flesh-colored bodysuits among the most striking.

Mr. Burago’s production eschews the kind of naturalistic acting that we are accustomed to seeing on American stages. The performances are ripe, antic and at times enjoyably over-the-top, in keeping with the spirit of Bulgakov’s book. It can be described in many ways—satiric, absurdist, fanciful, grotesque, bizarre—but subtle or realistic it definitely, and exuberantly, is not.

Mr. Isherwood is the Journal’s theater critic.

Steward Health Care Chairman and CEO Ralph de la Torre speaking in Gozo in 2018 as Armin Ernst (first from left) looks on.

Opinion: Ralph is in a hurry, his yachts are waiting

The charming cardiac surgeon always seemed like a man in a hurry.  Ralph de la Torre,  Steward Healthcare System CEO, had no time to waste.  He wanted to conclude the lucrative deal with disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat as quickly as possible.

Armin Ernst, CEO of Steward Healthcare International, urged the company lawyer on 27 January 2018 to seal the deal because “Ralph does not want to wait,” emails revealed.

By April 2018, de la Torre was feted in Castille by Joseph Muscat, who deftly duped the country: “The relationship (between Steward and Malta) will bring excellent results to Malta’s healthcare”.

De la Torre added his two cents: “Steward will be providing a transparent service”.

Reporters weren’t allowed to ask questions as Muscat escorted de la Torre away.

Those reporters were only allowed in for five minutes – after that, Muscat and de la Torre met behind closed doors.

Meanwhile, Muscat’s Deputy, Chris Fearne, was busy reinforcing Muscat’s lies.  Steward, he told us, was “the real deal”.

Fearne now faces a criminal trial for his part in the biggest fraud in Malta’s history. Never since then has he apologised for duping the nation, and not once has he expressed any regret for lending his credibility to Muscat’s con.

Even after Muscat was ousted, Fearne continued to approve hundreds of millions of euro to be funnelled to Steward.

A joint investigation between the OCCRP, The Shift and The Times of Malta revealed the contents of filings before the US Securities and Exchange Commission.  These allege that Ralph de la Torre offered Joseph Muscat a seat on the Steward board after he left office.

De la Torre is busy hitting the headlines. He’s being blamed for Steward’s bankruptcy.

Steward hospitals are being shut down .  Workers were left unpaid .

A Steward hospital in Florida was infested with 3,000 bats.  Another in Phoenix, sizzling at 30 degrees Celsius, was forced to transfer patients out after its air-conditioning system was left to fall apart.  Its kitchen was closed for health violations, and the state ordered it to cease operations.

Massachusetts set aside US$80 million per year and paid US$30 million in advance to try and save some of the Steward hospitals in the State. Governor Maura Healey used her power as State Governor to take over St Elizabeth’s medical centre for public use, costing the State another US$4.5 million.

Two other hospitals, Carney Hospital and Nashoba Valley Medical Centre, which treated 23,000 patients and employed 1,250 people, are due to shut down.

Another two hospitals were closed in July. The New England Sinai Hospital closed its doors in April.

The American Prospect reported that Steward had been on an inevitable path to financial collapse since its previous owners, Cerberus Capital, looted the company of US$1.26 billion in 2016.

Steward was already in deep trouble when Muscat shook hands with de la Torre in Castille in 2018.

Disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat with his aides in a meeting Ralph de la Torre and Armin Ernst in 2018.

De la Torre made over US$100 million by selling all of Steward’s hospitals to a real estate investment trust called Medical Properties Trust (MPT) in a sale-leaseback deal which bound the hospitals to pay MPT extensive rent.

With that money, de la Torre bought a 190 foot yacht worth US$40 million dollars called Amaral and a US$15 million dollar sport fishing boat.

As Steward was losing hundreds of millions of dollars a year, de la Torre was paid at least US$250 million dollars.

No wonder he purchased a US$7.2 million, 500 acre ranch in Texas, and a massive mansion in Dallas.

A Steward affiliate, majority owned by de la Torre, purchased two private jets at a cost of us$95 million, the Boston Globe reported.

While Prime Minister Robert Abela was pumping hundreds of millions of our money to Steward, Ralph de la Torre married his 29-year-old second wife Nicole Costa in an elaborate ceremony on the Amalfi Coast.

At around the same time Steward paid US$3 million to Greenhill School in Texas where de la Torre’s two teenage sons from his first wedding were admitted to high school.

The health minister at the time the Vitals Global Healthcare deal was shifted to Steward, the health minister at the time, Chris Fearne, tried to convince us that Steward was “the real deal”.  Meanwhile, The Washington Post called Steward “the biggest hospitals failure in decades”.  Massachusetts’ Governor called Steward “a really bad operator”.

Massachusetts governor Maura Healey said, “I am disgusted by Ralph de la Torre”.

She said: “He basically stole millions out of Steward on the backs of patients and workers and bought himself fancy yachts, mansions and now lavish trips to Versailles”.

De la Torre was filmed attending an Olympics dressage event even as Steward hospitals were being closed down and he was subpoenaed to appear before Congress. “I hope he gets his just dues and that federal investigators will come after him”, she added.

Senator Bernie Sanders said, “Ralph de la Torre, Steward CEO is the poster child for the type of the outrageous corporate greed that is permeating our for-profit healthcare system.” He was right.

De la Torre kept spinning lies to the American public promising that his hospitals would continue to operate when he knew they were doomed to fail.

“Steward does not expect any interruptions to its day to day operations,” he said in May.  Steward kept trying to attract patients because they were its only source of income.  But Steward had stopped paying its suppliers and was short on everything – from medical supplies, toilet paper, to medical equipment. Just days later Steward hospitals were closing down or being possessed by the State.

Steward is now under federal investigation for fraud and corruption.  De la Torre will be dragged before Congress next month. He might yet be charged in Malta too.

A federal grand jury in Boston is investigating Steward to determine whether it violated anti-bribery laws in Malta.

Governor Healey laid the blame for Steward’s financial meltdown squarely at the feet of Ralph de la Torre. “Good riddance and goodbye,” was her parting shot.

Joseph Muscat told his friend de la Torre: “I am confident your involvement in this project and country will yield exceptional results”.

Robert Abela defended Steward’s record in parliament and attacked the magistrate who uncovered the shocking fraud in Labour’s Vitals-Steward deal.

When will Labour finally apologise to the country?

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It will be a long wait and meantime all those involved, whether in the US or Malta will continue to enjoy their ill gotten money at the expense of people who are being denied medical care.

And they couldn’t care less as long as the gravy train keeps stopping at their troughs!

I am currently involved in the care of a relative, and can truthfully say that, it is clearly evident that the health care system in Malta is being denied the finance it needs to run smoothly. Start by getting rid of those so called security people, they are there doing nothing , and the number of clerks, some of whom do not care about the patients, and others who cannot guide a patient to the right direction. Yesterday we needed to go from Oncology Phlebotomy to Materdie Phlebotomy, which we did not know exactly where it was, a person on the phone gave us directions to the out patient department, ooops that is where the help stopped, ask these G4S people for Phlebotomy, and you see the stare of wonder, finally after searching the signage we made it to the department, the so called security guard insisted that he sees the paper appointment, no not digital copy, the paper copy, or else leave and come back with the paper. FFS 2024 and this idiot is insisting on a paper copy.Get to reception, after literally telling the guard where to go and how to get there, ans she is insisting that the patient does not have an appointment, show her the patients appointment email, and she does not know what hit her. It was only through the intervention of a woman, in a blue uniform, who I took to be a nurse, that we got seen to. These things are happening every single minute of the day.

Grazie Profs – excellent report.

Good article Kevin, brings tears to my eyes thinking how the Maltese element in this horrendous scam are just giving everyone the finger and smirking every time they appear in court. Hopefully the Karma they get will nullify any hopes they have of a happy and lucrative retirement.

“Steward will be providing a transparent service”. So transparent, in fact, it can hardly be seen.

How much of this information was available to fearne in 2018?

How about finding out about the testimony and submissions in thee arbitration proceedings between Steward and the Maltese Government [about our money]?

De la Torre is in a hurry, as his yacht, fishing boat and private jets are all waiting to ferry him around the globe on very costly joy-rides at the expense of all those he swindled.

It will take a longish time, one presumes, before he can do that. One only hopes that these possessions will still be in working order and available to him when he eventually finishes his prison sentence and will be free to enjoy them – if at all.

In the meantime, here in Mala, patients seeking emergency treatment at Mater Dei have to ‘enjoy’ waiting, sometimes in agonizing pain or discomfort, for 10 to 12 hours before being seen by doctors and medical personnel working under pressure – probably to be then found a stretcher and be dumped in a basement corridor with so many others in the same condition and without any privacy.

There were boundless millions for the De la Torres of Stewards for milking the local health system – but only plentiful inconvenience and misery for those who have to seek medical services at the public health facilities!

Qed tara ta’ xiex hallast, Gahan. Kompli capcap, siehbi!

Can AI produce a flow chart of all these deals? I wonder.

Chris FEARNE MHUX VERGNI daqs kemm jahseb li hu. MINIEX NGHID li hu KORROT IMMA ZGUR GHANDU XI IWIEGEB Chris xi kultant idhol fil YouTube fittex il PROGRAMM ta Xtra ta saviour balzan u erga ghara il PROGRAMM li kellek ma ONOR CLAUDETE

An apology is too cheap for a such a treasonous and deliberate act towards the citizens of Malta, who trusted them with the running of the country.

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