Zelenskyy urges Italy to seize $700 million mystery yacht linked to Putin
India Today
The Ukrainian President in his address to the Italian parliament on Tuesday asked the country to seize a mystery yacht worth approximately $700 million which has been linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Italy on Tuesday to seize a mystery yacht worth some $700 million that has been linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In an address to the Italian parliament, Zelenskiy said Putin and his wealthy backers often went to Italy on holiday and should have all their assets frozen to put pressure on them to end the invasion of Ukraine.
"Don't be a resort for murderers. Block all their real estate, accounts and yachts - from the Scheherazade to the smallest ones," he said, referring to a superyacht that is moored in the Italian port of Marina di Carrara.
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The sleek, six-deck vessel has two helicopter landing pads and can host up 18 guests and 40 crew. Its owner has never been publicly identified, but there have been insistent rumours in the media that it belongs to Putin or a member of his inner circle.
An organisation set up by the imprisoned Alexei Navalny, a fierce Putin critic, released a report on Monday saying it had evidence that the boat belonged to the Russian leader.
It said many of its crew were drawn from Russia's Federal Protective Service (FSO), which is tasked with protecting the Russian president, and regularly flew to Italy.
