Italy blocks by decree a giant yacht that would belong to Vladimir Putin
Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko's yacht, pictured here in Trieste, is considered the largest in the world.
AFP - JURE MAKOVEC
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The Italian Minister of Economy has signed a decree to block the
Scheherazade
, a luxury ship which has been anchored for months in the port of Marina di Carrara, in Tuscany.
For several weeks it had been the center of attention on the peninsula, because its owner could be the Russian president.
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140 meters long, immaculately white, with six decks, a swimming pool and two helicopter pads, the
Scheherazade
is one of the most luxurious yachts in the world, with an estimated value of more than 636 million euros.
The ship, flying the flag of the Cayman Islands, is immobilized in the port of Marina di Carrara, on the Tuscan coast.
On March 22, the Alexeï Navalny foundation published a video ensuring that the ship was directly linked to the Russian president, recalls our correspondent in Rome,
Eric Sénanque
.
The anti-corruption NGO revealed that part of the crew were members of the FSO, the Kremlin security service.
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The Italian authorities have opened an investigation, mobilizing the police and the Finance Guard, the customs and financial police.
The
Scheherazade
would belong to the oligarch Eduard Khudainatov, former vice-president of the oil company Rosneft, a close associate of the Kremlin, but could well, via complex financial arrangements, be the property of Vladimir Putin.
“
The ownership of the Scheherazade cannot be attributed to Russian President Vladimir Putin
,” reacted in a press release The Italian Sea Group, which took care of the maintenance of the ship in its yard.
The company says it relies on “
the documentation in its possession and the results of the checks carried out by the competent authorities
”.
In recent days, the ship had been relaunched after a period in dry dock for maintenance, raising fears that it will return to sea soon.
The Italian Financial Security Committee, which led the investigation into the yacht, proposed to the Council of Europe to include it on the list of Russian assets to be seized.
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