The Russian crew aboard a $700 million yacht named Scheherazade with potential links to President Putin have abandoned their jobs aboard the ship, as first reported by The New York Times.
Allegedly, due to obligations and personal conflicts related to the ongoing Russian war, all employees vacated their posts. Following the departure of all the Russian crew members, a British crew has stepped in instead.
The ship’s captain, Guy, who is also British, previously denied to The New York Times that the Scheherazade was owned by Putin and alleged that the Russian president had never been aboard the ship.
The ship has not been legally seized by Italian or European Union authorities, but is under scrutiny. Officials will not make further comments until the conclusion of an investigation by the Italian authorities, according to The New York Times.
Superyacht under scrutiny
The Scheherazade is currently docked at the Marina di Carrara in Italy, and does not have a publicly identified owner. Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the 459 foot superyacht was manned by at least 20 crew members which included approximately 10 Russian officers, since the fall of 2020.
Some of the ship’s employees were identified as FSO—or Federal Guard Service— personnel, who are tasked with protecting the Russian President, according to a YouTube video posted by two activists, investigative journalist Maria Pevchikh and the anti-corruption activist Georgy Alburov, on Monday. The yacht itself is enormous, and contains two helipads, a spa, three saunas, a swimming pool, and other luxury amenities.
Luxury yachts like the Scheherazade are being seized all over Europe, with countries like Italy and France impounding the nautical status symbols as a part of sanctions against Russia, following its invasion of Ukraine. France has seized several Russian yachts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and Germany has also impounded multiple luxury Russian yachts, with one notable seizure being valued at nearly $600 million. Italy has also seized Russian yachts valued at over $500 million.
In Italy, France, and Germany, $1 billion in Russian boats have been taken from sanctioned individuals so far.
Sanctions hitting yachts, jets, and mansions.
While Putin is being widely criticized as a “war criminal,” and facing mounting public backlash, he is not alone in facing social and financial consequences.
The sanctions imposed against Russia are meant not only to hurt the Russian president, but his inner circle of oligarchs as well. The private jets, mansions, and yachts that are seized by worldwide governments are considered frozen assets but could ultimately lead to financial gains for Ukraine.
In a bipartisan bill called the “Yachts for Ukraine Act,” the authorities would be permitted to seize the assets of Russian elites valued over $5 million and sell them to provide humanitarian support, weapons and refugee assistance to Ukraine.
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