€2.3 billion of seized Russian assets, a headache for Italian authorities • FRANCE 24 English

€2.3 billion of seized Russian assets, a headache for Italian authorities • FRANCE 24 English

Imperia a port in Northern Italy hundreds of boats are mored here but only one has been officially restricted from leaving the port the luxury yacht Lady M its presumed owner Alexi mov is one of the richest men of the Russian Federation since March 22 the yacht is part of the assets that have been frozen by the Italian state in accordance with the EU sanctions on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine the Lady M has been coming to our Marina for years it’s one of the biggest Yachts here it’s 63 M long and worth €65 million but as a frozen asset its management falls upon the Italian State and consequently the Ministry of Finance has to pay all the maintenance costs including the port fees the moing fee for this ship is about €1,000 per month in Winter and 13,000 in summer then there’s the electricity that’s supplied by the port on average we’re talking about €10,000 per month for electricity and water added to which are the costs of insurance crew Fuel and maintenance the motors have to be checked every year for a yacht of this type just the standard maintenance can be more than 50,000 a year over the last two years the Italian state has spent nearly 32 million managing Frozen Russian assets Italy would like to officially confiscate them in order to resell them but they Remain the property of their original owners the lawyer Andre saki represents a Russian oligarch with frozen assets we’re talking about a temporary freeze these assets have not been confiscated seizing them permanently would be problematic because that would go against an individual’s fundamental rights one of which is the right of ownership the state cannot appropriate private property arbitrarily there are currently seven Yachts belonging to Russian oligarchs immobilized in Italian ports the Kremlin has threatened legal action against any attempt at seizure of these Assets in Italy or elsewhere in Europe [Music]

Yachts, private planes and luxury villas – all belonging to Russian oligarchs, whose assets in Italy have been frozen since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to Brussels, those assets are worth some €2.3 billion. But they have been creating financial and legal headaches for the Italian government. Story by Natalia Mendoza, Pietro Barabino, Coline David and Charlotte Davan Wetton.
#Italy #Russia #oligarchs

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