The Scheherazade 459-foot superyacht docked on the shipyard in Marina Di Carrara, Italy, on Wednesday, March 23, 2022.
Francesco Mazzei | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The Italian authorities on Friday froze a yacht with reported hyperlinks to Russian President Vladimir Putin, blocking the vessel from leaving its port.
The Italian Finance Ministry stated an investigation discovered “significant economic and business links” between the yacht’s useful proprietor and “prominent elements of the Russian government” and other people sanctioned over Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. Italy didn’t title Putin, however varied studies have linked the Russian chief to the vessel.
The possession of the yacht has “long been under the attention of the authorities,” the finance ministry stated in an announcement.
The Cayman Island-flagged superyacht Scheherazade extends almost 460 ft and is at the moment moored within the Italian port of Marina di Carrara.
The strikes to freeze or confiscate luxurious vessels come as Western governments intensify efforts to observe, establish and seize belongings across the globe belonging to sanctioned Russians with ties to the Kremlin.
In March, the Biden administration introduced a brand new process pressure, dubbed KleptoCapture, to implement sweeping U.S. and allied sanctions imposed on Russian elites who’ve helped to finance Putin’s unprovoked conflict in Ukraine.
On Thursday, Fijian authorities seized a $300 million superyacht owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. The almost 350-foot motor yacht Amadea is reported to have an inside structure that sleeps up to 16 visitors in eight cabins and is provided with a helipad.
Last month, German authorities stated that they had seized the world’s largest superyacht after official affirmation that the vessel had hyperlinks to Russian billionaire and enterprise tycoon Alisher Usmanov.
The yacht, named Dilbar, after Usmanov’s mom, extends over 500 ft and is provided with two helipads and the biggest indoor swimming pool ever put in on a personal vessel. The Treasury Department estimates that Usmanov’s yacht is price about $735 million.