The Guardia die Finanza struck again on Friday evening in the hunt for oligarch fortunes.

This time, the Italian financial police showed up in the port of Trieste and seized Andrey Melnichenko's luxury yacht.

The 143 meter long ship called "A" has three masts, the tallest of which at 100 meters above the waterline is taller than Big Ben or the American Statue of Liberty.

Christian Schubert

Economic correspondent for Italy and Greece.

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According to the Italian government, the yacht is valued at 530 million euros.

It was confiscated as part of the sanctions against Russian oligarchs related to the war in Ukraine.

Italy announced a week ago that it had confiscated assets worth 143 million euros from Russian oligarchs.

Fifty-year-old Melnichenko is considered a corporate leader who is close to Vladimir Putin.

He is the 105th richest billionaire in Forbes magazine's most recent list, with an estimated fortune of $11.6 billion.

He is the owner of the Russian fertilizer manufacturer Eurochem and the coal energy company Suek (Siberian Coal Energy Company).

His career began in the Russian financial sector, and he is said to have made money trading in foreign exchange even as a student.

He later transitioned into the energy and chemical industries, where his companies employ more than 100,000 people, according to Forbes.

The American magazine reports that his companies have invested around 23 billion dollars in the past 15 years.

He also attracted attention with his luxurious lifestyle.

Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera and Julio Iglesias are said to have sung at his wedding on the Côte d'Azur in 2005 to a former Serbian pop singer.

His 12,700 ton sailing yacht was built by the Nobiskrug shipyard in Germany.

The interior was designed by designer Philippe Starck and includes an underwater lounge with 4 x 1.80 meter panes.

The ship is the "ultimate embodiment of a superyacht, created and engineered for the 22nd century," according to Nobiskrug's website.

A hybrid diesel drive and a state-of-the-art navigation system are part of the equipment.