South Africa refuses to seize sanctioned Russian superyacht

South Africa says it will allow a sanctioned Russian oligarch to dock his superyacht in Cape Town.

The $521m (£472m) vessel, which belongs to Alexei Mordashov - an ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin - left Hong Kong earlier this week.

South African opposition leaders had urged the government to seize the 465ft long (141m) yacht called The Nord.

But a spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa said he saw "no reason" to comply with Western sanctions.

"South Africa has no legal obligation to abide by sanctions imposed by the US and EU," Vincent Magwenya told reporters in Pretoria on Tuesday.

"South Africa's obligations with respect to sanctions relate only to those that are specifically adopted by the United Nations," Mr Magwenya added, noting that Mr Mordashov is not under any UN-sponsored sanctions.