autoevolution
 

Italy Freezes Vladimir Putin's Alleged Megayacht, 459-Foot Scheherazade Is Worth $700M

The Scheherazade, Vladimir Putin's Megayacht 16 photos
Photo: Maria Pevchik on Twitter
The Scheherazade is a $700 million megayacht delivered to a mysterious owner in the summer of 2020The Scheherazade is a $700 million megayacht delivered to a mysterious owner in the summer of 2020The Scheherazade is a $700 million megayacht delivered to a mysterious owner in the summer of 2020The Scheherazade is a $700 million megayacht delivered to a mysterious owner in the summer of 2020The Scheherazade is a $700 million megayacht delivered to a mysterious owner in the summer of 2020The Scheherazade is a $700 million megayacht delivered to a mysterious owner in the summer of 2020$700 million Scheherazade is currently in Italy, not seized because authorities don't know who it belongs to$700 million Scheherazade is currently in Italy, not seized because authorities don't know who it belongs to$700 million Scheherazade is currently in Italy, not seized because authorities don't know who it belongs to140m Megayacht SCHEHERAZADE140m Megayacht SCHEHERAZADE140m Megayacht SCHEHERAZADE140m Megayacht SCHEHERAZADE140m Megayacht SCHEHERAZADE140m Megayacht SCHEHERAZADE
On the 72nd day of the Russo-Ukrainian War, the short guy in the Kremlin received yet another blow from the western world. More specifically, Italy issued a freeze of the Scheherazade, a yacht linked to Vladimir Putin.
Il Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze, in collaboration with il Guardia di Finanza, “highlighted the presence of significant economic and business links of the beneficial owner of the Scheherazade with prominent elements of the Russian government and with other subjects.” Unfortunately for the high heels-wearing man in Moscow, flying the Cayman Islands flag didn’t fool the Italian authorities in regard to who actually owns the vessel. On paper, Scheherazade is legally owned by a business registered in the Marshall Islands, namely Bielor Asset Ltd.

Even worse for Vladimir Putin, May 6th marks another loss for the Russian Federation. Earlier today, the Admiral Makarov frigate was hit by Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles and burst into flames close to Snake Island, according to MP Oleksiy Goncharenko.

Less than a month ago, the Russian Navy’s Black Sea flagship was hit by two anti-ship missiles. As expected of the Russian Federation, the peeps in the Kremlin initially said that all of the 500 crew members were rescued. Not long after, Putin’s cronies announced that one crew member died and 27 went missing. Moscow initially noted that an accident had caused a fire, then admitted that Moskva was mangled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Turning our attention back to the 459-foot Scheherazade (make that 140 meters), this ultra-luxury vessel features a beauty salon, a movie theater, two helicopter pads, a spa, and a gym. A six-decker megayacht that’s currently moored in Tuscany’s beautiful Marina di Carrara, the Scheherazade features a steel hull with an aluminum superstructure. A Turkish bath, a sauna, a cryotherapy chamber, and a hydro massage room need to be mentioned as well, plus two VIP suites of which one includes a player piano.

The exterior and interior designs were carried out by Espen Oeino and Francois Zuretti. Twinned with the 445-foot (135.5-meter) Crescent owned by Rosneft chief executive officer Igor Sechin, the de facto deputy of Vladimir Putin, the Scheherazade is the 12th largest yacht in the world.

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram

 Download: The Scheherazade's freezing decree (PDF)

About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories