Status: 07.05.2022 02:58 a.m
Italy has seized the mega-yacht Scheherazade, said to belong to Russian President Putin. The authorities apparently forestalled the 650 million euro ship from escaping.
Italy has seized the megayacht Scheherazade docked in Tuscany, which investigators say may secretly belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The financial police assigned the 140-meter-long ship to someone who has ties to “prominent elements of the Russian government” and other people on the EU sanctions list, the government in Rome said.
The yacht flying the flag of the Cayman Islands, which was last serviced in the port of Marina di Carrara, had long been noticed by the authorities. Apparently Finance Minister Daniele Franco forestalled the “Scheherazade” from sailing and a possible escape from Italian territory with his decision to confiscate the ship.
Yacht is said to be worth around 650 million euros
The New York Times reported this week that the yacht was launched on Tuesday for the first time after months in dry dock. Crew members were seen rushing to load the ship, and the yacht was refueled the previous week. The yacht is valued by the Italian authorities at around 650 million euros.
According to research by the team of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who is in prison in Russia, the ship belongs to Putin. The luxury yacht company The Italian Sea Group, which last worked on the ship, announced weeks ago that according to documents, Putin is not the owner.
According to Italian media, Eduard Khudainatov, the ex-head of the Russian state-owned company Rosneft, is registered as the owner. The oil manager is also cited as the owner of the super yacht Amadea, which was seized in Fiji on Tuesday.