The office of the Italian prime minister claimed on Saturday that Italian police had confiscated a superyacht from Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, just days after the businessman was placed on an EU sanctions list following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The 143-metre (470-foot) Sailing Yacht A, which costs 530 million euros ($578 million), has been halted in Trieste’s northern harbour, according to the administration.
The vessel, designed by Philippe Starck and manufactured by Nobiskrug in Germany, is the world’s largest sailing yacht, the government revealed.
Melnichenko owns EuroChem Group, a significant fertiliser producer company, as well as SUEK, a coal company.
Last week, Italian authorities seized houses and boats worth 143 million euros ($156 million) from five prominent Russians on the sanctions list.
The police operations were part of a coordinated effort by Western countries to punish affluent Russians associated with President Vladimir Putin.
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