Speculation that it belongs to Putin
A luxury yacht in Italy whose crew refuses to reveal its true owner
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Italian authorities are currently investigating whether a mysterious mega yacht docked in a northern port should be confiscated under anti-Russian sanctions, following speculation that it may belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Scheherazade, a $700 million yacht, is one of the world's largest and most expensive luxury yachts, and since its launch in 2020, its true ownership has been kept strictly a secret.
Scheherazade is currently docked for repairs at the Italian group's shipyard in Marina di Carrara, Italy, and is protected by extra strict protection measures that exceed even the standards of luxury yachts, with covers that conceal his nameplate and a metal fender that protects him from prying eyes.
For more than a year, workers at the shipyard have been speculating that the yacht belonged to Putin himself, a source there told the Daily Mail this week.
"All the whispers were talking about Putin's ownership of the yacht," says this person.
The source said that Scheherazade's crew appeared to be Russian, and that a team of Germans working to repair the yacht had been called up to his company after the European Union announced its sanctions last week on Russia.
However, the yacht's British captain, Guy Bennett Pearce, denied that Putin ever owned or was on board the Scheherazade, telling the New York Times, "I've never seen him, and I've never met him."
Peres declined to identify Scheherazade's owner, citing a strict nondisclosure agreement, and did not rule out that the owner was Russian.
But he insisted that the owner is not on any sanctions list.
The captain said Italian investigators had boarded the ship and had examined some of the yacht's certification documents, and that he intended to hand over documents identifying the true owner.
"I have no doubt that this will rid the yacht of all the negative rumors and speculation," Pearce said.
The Italian investigation into Scheherazade's ownership comes as authorities across Europe race to identify and seize yachts linked to Russian oligarchs named in new sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, French authorities seized the luxury yacht Amore Ferro in the Mediterranean resort of La Ciotat.
The 289-foot yacht is believed to be owned by Igor Sechin, a Putin ally who runs Russian oil giant Rosneft, which has been on the US sanctions list since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
The French Finance Ministry said in a statement that customs authorities boarded the Amore Ferro and discovered that its crew was preparing for an urgent departure, although the planned repair work was not finished yet.
Meanwhile, Italian authorities on Friday confiscated the 213-foot mother yacht of Russian steel baron Alexei Mordashov while it was moored in the Riviera coastal town of Imperia.
In San Remo, Italy, authorities seized Lina, a yacht owned by Putin ally and oil billionaire Gennady Timchenko.
The 511-foot-tall Delbar yacht, likely the world's largest luxury yacht, is under orders to remain in the port of Hamburg as officials there are trying to determine its ownership.
Speculation rages over Scheherazade, whose ownership remains one of the biggest mysteries in the yachting world.
The superyacht has two helipads, but almost nothing is known about the yacht's interior features, and there are no pictures of the interior.
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