Tottenham owner’s 98m superyacht sets sail after he pays $5m fine

Joe Lewis, the convicted billionaire owner of Tottenham Hotspur F.C., can use his superyacht again after paying a US$5m fine.

The 98-metre Aviva — which Lewis put up for collateral for bail last year — has been in a Mediterranean port for most of the last 12 months. In January, the British billionaire pleaded guilty to insider trading charges in the US, and on 4 April was sentenced to three years probation. Lewis, who admitted to sharing business secrets with personal friends and associates to enrich them, apologised to a judge, saying he was “embarrassed” by his conduct.

Tavistock Group founder Lewis, a British businessman based in the Bahamas, was banned from stepping onto the superyacht while waiting for his trial. After sentencing, he paid a US$5m fine, which was reportedly settled in Manhattan shortly after the verdict.

Since the verdict, the yacht has sailed over 400 nautical miles from Malta for ports in Albania and is currently in Kalamata in Greece, according to AIS data. It is the furthest the ship has travelled in over seven months, although there have been no confirmed reports that Lewis, 87, is aboard.

Aviva was designed by Reymond Langton, and built by Lemwerder-based German builder Abeking & Rasmussen. Launched in 2017, it is the fourth yacht named Aviva built for Lewis.

Aviva acts as Lewis’s floating home and office, and features an indoor, full-sized padel tennis court. The vessel also boasts eight guest suites, a helipad, spa and a cinema.

Bloomberg reports the yacht has also displayed works from Lewis’ private art collection, which is valued at more than $1bn and includes pieces by Picasso, Freud, Klimt and Degas.