- A British crew has reportedly taken control of a $700 million superyacht linked to Vladimir Putin.
- Activists said members of the previous crew were employed by Russia’s Federal Security Service.
- The Scheherazade’s captain, a Briton, has denied that Putin owns the ship.
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A 140-metre superyacht in Italy with alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin is now under the control of an all-British crew, according to a local union official quoted by The Times of London.
“I was told that initially there was a predominantly Russian occupation, but after the war broke out, Russians had to return to Russia, either to hide their identities or to come forward,” Paolo Gozzani, an official with Italy’s CGIL trade union, told the Times. “A British crew then arrived.”
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Gozzani said about 20 crew members, who are now missing, served on the ship called the Sheherazade, which is currently being repaired in dry dock.
So far, the ship is not subject to any legal seizure by Italian or EU authorities, but the Guardia di Finanza has previously confirmed to insiders that investigations are ongoing.
The Scheherazade is worth $700 million and has six floors, two helipads, a swimming pool, a spa complex and a beauty salon, according to a YouTube video posted by two activists who work with jailed anti-Putin leader Alexei Navalny .
At least 10 officers from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSO) have been identified by activists as crew members on the Scheherazade, although Insider has not been able to independently confirm this.
Activists working with Navalny view the crew members’ association with the FSO as evidence that Putin is the actual owner of the Scheherazade, although his rightful ownership is obscured.
The ship’s captain, Bennett-Pearce, a Briton, had previously denied to the Times that the Scheherazade was owned directly by Putin and that a “watertight non-disclosure agreement” barred him from revealing details.
“I never saw him,” he said. “I never met him.”
Meanwhile, Finnish authorities announced this week that they are investigating 21 yachts for possible links to Russian oligarchs.
In addition, the UK government has taken steps to prevent “a small number of yachts” from leaving the country over alleged links to oligarchs and turned away 10 ships that have flown to Russia, according to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.