Putin Claims Owner: Italy Confiscates Mega Yacht

Italy has seized the mega yacht Scheherazade, which is said to belong to Russian President Putin. Authorities apparently prevented the €650 million ship from escaping.

Italy has seized the Scheherazade mega yacht docked in Tuscany, which investigators say may secretly belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The financial police assigned the 140-meter-long ship to someone with links to “leading elements of the Russian government” and others on the EU sanctions list, the government said in Rome.

The yacht flying the Cayman Islands flag, which was last checked in the port of Marina di Carrara, had long been noticed by authorities. Apparently, Finance Minister Daniele Franco prevented the “Scheherazade” from setting sail and a possible escape from Italian territory with his decision to confiscate the ship.

The yacht is said to be worth around €650 million.

The New York Times reported this week that the yacht was launched Tuesday after months in dry dock. Crew members were seen running to load the boat, and the yacht was refueled the week before. The yacht is valued by the Italian authorities at around 650 million euros.

According to the investigation by the team of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who is in prison in Russia, the ship belongs to Putin. The luxury yacht company The Italian Sea Group, which last worked on the ship, announced weeks ago that according to documents, Putin is not the owner.

According to Italian media, Eduard Khudainatov, the former head of the Russian state-owned company Rosneft, is registered as the owner. The oil manager is also cited as the owner of the Amadea superyacht, which was seized in Fiji on Tuesday.