A yacht price an estimated $700 million, which is presently docked in Italy, might belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin, in accordance with jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's group.
The Scheherazade, one of many world's largest superyachts whose proprietor has not been publicly named, is presently stationed within the Marina di Carrara port on Italy's west coast in Tuscany.
In response to a video launched on Monday by journalist Maria Pevchikh and activist Georgy Alburov—each of the Anti-Corruption Basis (FBK) arrange by Navalny—the 459-foot ship is owned by Putin and its crew contains members of Russia's Federal Protecting Service (FSO), who're tasked with defending the Russian president.
The 15-minute video detailing the allegations was revealed on-line sooner or later earlier than Navalny, probably the most outstanding and outspoken Putin critics, was discovered responsible of large-scale fraud and contempt by a Russian court docket and faces an extra 13 years in jail.
Navalny, who alleged that he was poisoned by the Kremlin in 2020, is already serving a three-and-a-half yr sentence over allegations he violated the phrases of his suspended sentence following a 2014 conviction for cash laundering.
The video, which has already been seen almost 2.5 million occasions on YouTube, mentioned how Putin could be affected by the European Union's sanctions in opposition to Russia within the wake of the nation's invasion of Ukraine if he owns property within the EU.
The clips then alleges that the Scheherazade, full with a two helicopter decks, a cinema and a swimming pool, may very well belong to Putin after acquiring a crew record detailing who works on the posh vessel.
Alburov famous that many of those crew members allegedly work for the FSO, the company that "protects Putin and organizes his life." Some crew members are both listed outright as working for the FSO, or their addresses are similar to the headquarters of the FSO's Caucasus department, mentioned Alburov.
The muse additionally mentioned it had spoken to one of many crew members, who confirmed that the superyacht is owned by Putin.
The New York Occasions beforehand reported that Putin might personal the vessel. The ship's captain, British nationwide Man Bennett-Pearce, denied the allegation and mentioned the Russian president has by no means even been on the yacht.
"I've by no means seen him. I've by no means met him," he instructed The New York Occasions. Bennett-Pearce added that the yacht's proprietor just isn't on any sanctions record however didn't rule out that whoever it's might be Russian.
Italian police and U.S. officers have already launched investigations into who owns the Scheherazade, however have to this point didn't provide you with any concrete conclusions.
As famous by Pevchikh, the yacht hasn't been seized but as a result of authorities have been unable to search out its proprietor.
"With a quite simple open supply search we managed to determine at the least ten FSO officers which are listed as personnel members of Scheherezade," Pevchikh tweeted on Monday. "They're Russian state staff, navy personnel, they usually recurrently journey to Italy as a gaggle to work on the mysterious yacht.
"To sum up, a dozen of Vladimir Putin's private guards and servants are continuously sustaining one of many world's largest yachts docked in an Italian port. We expect that this can be a stable sufficient proof that Scheherazade belongs to Putin himself and have to be instantly seized."
On Tuesday, Navalny was discovered responsible of fraud and contempt prices, which he and his supporters say had been fabricated with the intention to finish his political ambitions, reported Reuters.
He was jailed final yr after surviving a poison assault from a nerve agent, which he mentioned was ordered by Moscow. The Kremlin has often denied trying to assassinate one in every of Russia's most vocal critics of Putin.
Navalny is anticipated to be sentenced on Tuesday, March 22.
Russia's Overseas Ministry has been contacted for remark.
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