Italy arrests superyacht "Scheherazade"

In Italy, the Scheherazade superyacht was arrested in connection with the "significant economic and business relations" of the beneficial owner of the ship with "prominent representatives" of the Russian government. This decision was made by Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Daniele Franco at the suggestion of the Financial Security Committee, the ministry said.

About whom exactly from the leadership of Russia are we talking, the message does not specify, informs RBC.

“The ship, flying the flag of the Cayman Islands and moored in Marina di Carrara, has long been under the scrutiny of the authorities,” the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement.

Built in 2019, the Scheherazade superyacht is 140 meters long and 24 meters wide, according to Fleetmoon, a vessel tracking portal. VesselFinder lists Bielor Asset Ltd as the owner of the vessel. Portal SuperayachtFan estimates the ship at $700 million, adding that it was built at the German shipyard Lurssen. According to the portal, Scheherazade closes the top ten largest yachts in the world.

The Italian portal Ruetir in early March connected the ship with a Russian businessman, ex-president of Rosneft Eduard Khudainatov. Ruetir noted that Khudaynatov was not included in the latest sanctions lists, but restrictive measures against him were introduced by Washington in 2017 on charges of selling oil to North Korea in violation of the embargo.

In an interview with The New York Times, the captain of the Scheherazade, Guy Bennett-Pierce, who has a British passport, denied reports that the Russian president appeared on the ship. “I never saw him. I never met him,” the captain said. He noted that the owner of the yacht was not listed in any sanctions lists, admitting that he could be a Russian citizen. At the same time, in early March, the captain of the Scheherazade handed over data about the yacht to the Italian authorities, expressing confidence that this would remove all suspicions about the owner of the ship. Bennett-Pierce declined to elaborate on the owner of the superyacht, saying he could not do so under a non-disclosure agreement.

The newspaper points out that the Scheherazade is surrounded by an unusual degree of secrecy, even for ships of its category. Contractors and crew members are required to sign non-disclosure agreements, the yacht has a special “cover” to hide the nameplate, and after the vessel arrived at the port (the publication does not specify its name), the workers installed a high metal fence on the pier to partially hide it from outsiders writes The New York Times.

Italian authorities launched an investigation in early March, while the Scheherazade was being repaired in the port of Marina di Carrara, The New York Times wrote without citing sources of information. In early May, the newspaper reported that the country's authorities were eager to complete the investigation as soon as possible before the ship left the port. Three port workers, who asked not to be identified in an interview with The New York Times, said a police helicopter circled the ship daily while it was in an Italian port.

At the same time, a representative of the Italian financial police said in early May that if the ship leaves the port before the end of the investigation, the authorities will not be able to do anything to prevent this.