Substitute while the actions of the article are loading
ROME – Italian financial authorities said on Friday that they had seized a $ 700 million megayacht linked to anti-Kremlin groups by Russian President Vladimir Putin in media reports. But it remains an element of mystery: Italy, in what it called its “freezing decree”, does not say who the owner may be.
Italian investigators raced to investigate the ship and prevent it from leaving the Tuscan port of Marina di Carrara. The yacht, known as Scheherazade, was under repair before Russia invaded Ukraine. But this week he returned to the water, according to a New York Times reporter who visited the marina, which raised fears the ship could leave and avoid sanctions.
The ship would be able to leave until the measures imposed on Friday night.
Announcing its actions, the Italian Ministry of Finance said that the owner of the yacht has “prominent” ties with the Russians, who are already under European Union sanctions. The owner’s name was not released, and Italy said only that its government had asked the EU to add the person to its sanctions list.
A Finance Ministry spokesman described Italy’s move as “temporary”.
Italy “proposed to the Council of the European Union to include the owner of the boat in the list,” the spokesman said. “Until then, the name cannot be made public.”
In March, an investigation by the Italian daily La Stampa identified the boat’s owner, Eduard Khudainatov, a former Russian oilman. But the newspaper also raised the question of how someone who is not on the list of billionaires can afford to buy one of the most luxurious yachts in the world.
So speculation about Scheherazade only intensified. Investigators working for imprisoned Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny say the yacht is owned by Putin himself. In March, Navalny’s team said he published a list of the crew with people who worked on the yacht. They are said to include members of Russia’s state agency responsible for Putin’s personal protection.
“We believe this is solid enough evidence that Scheherazade belongs to Putin himself and must be seized immediately,” said Maria Pevchikh, head of the Navalny-based FBK investigation team.
The assets of Russia’s ruling and billionaire class are usually kept in strict secrecy, controlled on paper by non-transparent offshore companies. This makes it difficult in some cases for European countries to identify the real owners of villas, yachts and other luxury items. Scheherazade is officially owned by an offshore company from the Marshall Islands, Pevchikh said.
Before Friday, Italy managed to detain a $ 560 million megayacht linked to Andrei Melnichenko, a coal and fertilizer tycoon who is one of Russia’s 10 richest people. Italy has also blocked access to villas used by the oligarchs as a summer getaway.
Add Comment