Italy seizes Russian oligarch’s €530M mega yacht

Italy’s monetary police power seized a €530-million superyacht belonging to Russian oligarch Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, a spokesperson for the Italian authorities stated right this moment.
The vessel was seized on Friday within the northeastern port of Trieste. Known as “SY A,” it’s among the many world’s largest.
Melnichenko is without doubt one of the oligarchs topic to sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In line with the EU, he “belongs to essentially the most influential circle of Russian businesspeople with shut connections to the Russian Authorities.” As such, he’s “in financial sectors offering a considerable income to the Authorities of the Russian Federation.”
Brussels stated 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.”
Following the adoption of EU sanctions, Rome has already seized yachts and villas belonging to shut associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin, akin to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov’s Sardinian villa.