Vladimir Putin (69) is said to own a $700 million yacht. It is the yacht “Scheherasade”, one of the largest and most expensive in the world. Now it has been confiscated in Italy.
Italian tax authorities announced on Friday that they had frozen the megayacht. Bizarrely, Italy did not specifically say who the owner is in its decree impounding the ship.
Yacht was in Italy for repairs
The Italian investigators had previously examined the ship and prevented it from leaving the Tuscan port of Marina di Carrara.
Why is the putative Putin ship even in Italy? The “Scheherazade” was given for repairs before the war in Ukraine, which was triggered by Russia.
It was only this week that the repairs were completed and it was launched once more. Fears arose that the ship might sail and circumvent the sanctions. This is no longer possible.
This is how the Protz yacht is equipped
The Protz yacht, whose value depends on the «Washington Post» Said to be worth $700 million, it has two helidecks, a gym, a dance floor and a swimming pool.
Authorities would have to be sure who owned it in order to pin it down. Officially, it says in their statement: The beneficial owner of the ship Scheherazade belongs to “prominent elements of the Russian government and other people.”
Apparently not even the captain knows who the owner is. Guy Bennett-Pearce steers the ship. He says to the “New York Times” regarding its owner: “I’ve never seen him. I never met him,” he explains in the “New York Times”.
Workers name Putin as the owner
However, Bennett-Pearce, who has signed a strict non-disclosure agreement, does not rule out the possibility that the yacht belongs to a Russian.
The workers in the shipyard were sure that the luxury ship belonged to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as reported by the “Daily Mail”. One thing is clear: the Italian authorities might not have arrested the ship without reason. (eu)
