Watch the video: Italian authorities seize superyacht from Russian oligarch
Italian police have seized the superyacht owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko. This was announced by the office of Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Saturday. A few days earlier, the businessman had been put on an EU sanctions list. The background is the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The 143-metre sailing yacht A, valued at around 530 million euros, has been seized in the northern port of Trieste, the government said. Designed by Philippe Starck and built by Nobiskrug in Germany, the ship is said to be the largest sailing yacht in the world. Western states’ sanctions are designed to hit oligarchs who have ties to Russian President Putin.