The Italian finance police seized Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko’s mega yacht in Trieste, Italy on Friday night.
The Guardia di Finanza made the announcement in a press release launched on Friday night. Known as “SY A,” the yacht was in storage on the Port of Trieste, the assertion stated.
It is price roughly 530 million euros ($578 million), the assertion added. It is likely one of the largest superyachts on the planet, in keeping with the producer Nobiskrug.
Video printed by the finance police exhibits brokers boarding the yacht.
Melnichenko was sanctioned by the European Union on March 9 as a part of expanded sanctions on Russian oligarchs. In line with the EU, he owns the foremost fertilizer producer EuroChem Group and SUEK, a coal firm.
Within the EU’s Council resolution, which licensed sanctions in opposition to Melnichenko, they famous he and 36 different enterprise leaders met with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the invasion into Ukraine to debate the potential financial impression of EU and American sanctions.
“The truth that he was invited to attend this assembly exhibits that he’s a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin and that he’s supporting or implementing actions or insurance policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, in addition to stability and safety in Ukraine,” the EU Council resolution reads.
“It additionally exhibits that he is likely one of the main businesspersons concerned in financial sectors offering a considerable income to the federal government of Russia, which is accountable for annexation of Crimea and destabilization of Ukraine.”
On Saturday, Melnichenko spokesman Alex Andreev informed CNN that the Russian oligarch eliminated himself from the board of each Eurochem and SUEK (firms he based) after the EU sanctioned him. Andreev additionally stated that Melnichenko was additionally not the “beneficiary” of the businesses, in a press release to CNN.
When requested by CNN if Melnichenko had any touch upon the state of affairs in Ukraine, Andreev declined to offer further remark and as a substitute pointed in the direction of his preliminary emailed assertion to CNN.
“Andrey Melnichenko is a world self-made entrepreneur. He has no relation to the tragic occasions in Ukraine. He has no political affiliations,” Andreev stated in that assertion. “There is no such thing as a justification by any means for putting him on the EU sanctions listing. We will probably be disputing these baseless and unjustified sanctions, and consider that the rule of legislation and customary sense will prevail.”
The information comes as quite a few Russian elites have been scrambling to maneuver and promote belongings amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Simply days after Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC proprietor Roman Abramovich introduced that he would promote the soccer membership, the UK added the 55-year-old to its listing of sanctioned people as a part of its efforts to “isolate” Putin.
On March 3, France’s finance ministry introduced the nation had seized a yacht owned by Russian oligarch and CEO of Russian oil big Rosneft Igor Sechin.
The European Union had sanctioned Sechin earlier that week, describing him as considered one of Putin’s “most trusted and closest advisors, in addition to his private good friend.”
CNN’s Kara Scannell, Jessica Schneider, Amy Woodyatt and Niamh Kennedy contributed reporting to this publish.