Italy said on Friday it had confiscated a yacht belonging to Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov, who is considered close to President Vladimir Putin and is subject to European Union (EU) sanctions.
“Italian police have just confiscated the yacht Lady M, a € 65 million ship owned by Alexei Alexandrovich Mordashov and located in the Ligurian Imperial City, under current EU sanctions,” Ferdinando Giuliano, a media adviser to Italian Prime Minister Mario Dragi, told Twitter.
Steel magnate Mordashov owns the Severstal group. He is one of Russia’s ultra-wealthy and influential citizens, sanctioned by the EU for its proximity to the Kremlin.
Since Russia’s open invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February, the EU has decided to freeze the assets of the associated Russian oligarchs and ban them from entering the EU.
Mordashov announced on Monday that he was distancing himself from the Russian war in Ukraine. “I have absolutely nothing to do with the current geopolitical tensions, and I do not understand why the EU has imposed sanctions on me,” he said.
Italian media have reported that the yacht Lena, owned by billionaire Gennady Timchenko, the founder and owner of the private investment group Volga Group and a former co-owner of the Gunvor Group, has been confiscated in Sanremo.
The first yacht to be seized as a result of EU sanctions was the Amore Vero, which was seized on Thursday in the French port city of Las Vegas. The yacht is owned by a company linked to Igor Sechin, the head of Russia’s oil giant Rosneft.
–
It is strictly forbidden to use, copy or reproduce the materials published on iAuto.lv on other Internet portals, mass media or otherwise handle the materials published on iAuto.lv without the written permission of EON SIA.
