Italy Seizes Superyacht Scheherazade

On May 6, Italy ordered the seizure of the superyacht Scheherazade. Italy's finance ministry said in a statement that they have evidence that the owner of the Scheherazade has “significant economic and business connections” with “prominent elements of the Russian government and with others subject to EU sanctions”, imposed due to the war in Ukraine. The ministry also asked the EU to place the owner of the superyacht on the sanctions list.

Italian authorities did not specify the name of the owner. But according to a piece by the New York Times, published in early March, there were rumours that the yacht belonged to Putin. On March, 21, we published our own investigation, providing solid proof that the real owner of the luxury vessel was indeed Putin. Our team of investigators gained access to the crew manifesto of the superyacht and found out that a significant part of the crew either worked for or had a connection with the Russian Federal Protection Service, a government agency responsible for keeping Putin safe and managing his everyday life.

The yacht, which is 139 metres long and worth 700 million dollars, is currently moored in the Tuscan port of Marina di Carrara. During the last few days before the arrest there was suspicious activity around the yacht, suggesting that the crew was preparing to put to sea: the yacht was refloated and loaded with fuel and supplies. It is likely that the owner of the yacht was in a hurry to leave the port to prevent the Scheherazade from being detained by the authorities, but just couldn’t do it in time.

After the arrest, the ACF team went to Italy to get as close a look as possible at the Scheherazade and see things that no one has seen before. This trip allowed us to make a video with lots of details about the luxurious interior of the yacht. That’s how Putin spends the money he stole from his own people: not just to fund the war, but also to get himself a gold-plated hot tub, a private spa and a living room with a self-playing grand piano.

Fun fact: “Scheherazade” was a nickname given by the Russian media to Alina Kabaeva, a renowned gymnast, Putin’s lover and also a mother of his two children, as confirmed by a recent article published in the Swiss newspaper SonntagsZeitung. Kabaeva is featured on our list of people responsible for the war, and we hope that this “Scheherazade”, just as the luxury vessel docked in Marina di Carrara, will also be targeted by sanctions soon.