World

Putin-linked superyacht can evade sanctions by setting sail


MARINA DI CARRARA, Italy— Italian police are racing to complete an investigation into the ownership of a $700 million superyacht that US officials say is link sent to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, before the ship is put to sea and can evade possible sanctions.

They may be running out of time.

After months of mooring in the Tuscan port of Marina di Carrara, the 459-foot vessel, known as the Scheherazade, was brought back into the water on Tuesday. Crew members milled upwards as water slowly filled the dock. The British captain who was before Talk to reporters, do not answer questions.

A former crew member said the ship could be ready to go out immediately, but it would likely have to undergo sea trials to check the equipment first, which is common for a ship. The ship is under repair and in this case has been docked since September.

Scheherazade has so far avoided the fate of a number of luxury yachts linked to powerful Russians, which have been seized by the European Union, Great Britain and the United States in an attempt to hunt for riches. oligarchs and officials in Putin’s inner circle. response to the invasion of Ukraine. In March, the captain of the Scheherazade, Guy Bennett-Pearce, said the ship’s owner – who he did not identify – was not on any sanctions lists. Italian media report whose owner is Eduard Khudainatov, an oil tycoon who is not currently punished. He is a longtime associate of Igor Sechin, Putin’s close ally and chairman of Russian state oil company Rosneft, who is believed to be the owner of a superyacht that was seized in March.

Mr. Khudainatov’s ownership of Scheherazade could not be independently verified. If indeed he is the owner, it may just be on paper. His name has also appeared in the case of another superyacht, The Related press Previously reported: Amadea, shares an exterior designer, interior designer and builder with Scheherazade. On Tuesday, the supreme court of Fiji allowed the United States catch Amadea, worth $325 million, has been held in the South Pacific country since last month. According to an American official, the owner of the ship is Suleiman A. Kerimova tycoon gold tycoon from Russia was once bullied by the US punishment since 2018; Defense lawyers asserted that the real owner was Mr. Khudainatov, the Associated Press reported.

Former crew member Scheherazade, who declined to be named because of the non-disclosure agreement signed by the ship’s workers, had never heard of Mr Khudainatov and said on board the ship had discussed publicly that the owner Scheherazade’s real name is Mr. Putin. Right after The Times first time writing About the Scheherazade in early March, US officials said the yacht had ties to Mr. Putin without giving specific details. A group of journalists working for jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny obtained a list of crew members and Find that many of them are employees of the Russian agency that protects Putin.

A spokesman for the Italian financial police, which is leading the national and international investigation into Scheherazade’s ownership, said that, if the ship leaves before their investigation is finished, there will be no Is there anything the authorities can do to stop it?

Three port workers said authorities appeared to have kept an eye on the yacht, which adjoins the police and coast guard stations, while in the dock; they said a police helicopter makes daily flights. The workers, who were not authorized to speak to the press, asked that their names not be released.

Roberto Franchi, a retired shipyard worker, said that if the Scheherazade “floats, it can move relatively quickly”.

It’s unclear where the ship is headed, but the move by Russian-owned superyachts that have successfully evaded US, European Union or British sanctions offers some possibilities. Two ships owned by billionaire Roman Abramovich, which face UK and EU sanctions, have been in Turkish waters for weeks. Others have survived in the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. The Nord vessel, owned by sanctioned billionaire Alexei Mordashov, went much further, docking at the Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok at the end of March, according to data from Maritime Traffic, which tracks ships.

Those superyachts have escaped the fate of Amadea and a growing list of others, including the Sailing Yacht A, owned by billionaire Andrey Melnichenko and imprisoned by Italian police in March; and Crescent, Scheherazade’s sister ship, were intercepted in Spain. Reuters, quote a person in the Spanish police, reported that it was believed that Crescent Lake belonged to Mr. Sechin.

At Marina di Carrara, port workers and others with access to the shipyard witnessed a series of actions by the Scheherazade crew: the removal of the white plastic shields that protected the deck during repairs. , ship cleaning, loading. Last week, they said, fuel trucks filled the ship’s huge tanks, while crew members carefully moved the wrapped barrels onto the ship.

As the sun went down on Tuesday, a young couple had an aperitif at a bar overlooking the shipyard.

“Look, Putin’s yacht is still here,” joked Massimo Giovi, a 25-year-old student. “If that happens, it will change the horizon here.”

Julian Barnes contribution report.



Source link

news7g

News7g: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button