- The £450m Sailing Yacht A was cruising along the Italian coast this month
- It was photographed on March 5 moored off the coast of Venice
- Italian police seized the yacht this morning in Trieste under EU sanction rules
- Andrey Melinchenko was placed on the EU sanction list over his Kremlin links
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Italian police have seized a superyacht from Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, the prime minister's office said on Saturday, a few days after the businessman was placed on an EU sanctions list following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The 470-foot Sailing Yacht A, which has a price tag of £450m has been sequestered at the northern port of Trieste, the government said.
The yacht has been placed in a special dry dock which has been emptied to prevent the vessel from being taken away.
Triesete was mentioned in Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain speech of March 5, 1946, when the war time leader outlined the front line of the Cold War.
Melnichenko's yacht was designed by Philippe Starck and built by Nobiskrug in Germany. It is the world's biggest sailing yacht.
Andrey Melnichenko had his £450 million vessel Sailing Yacht A seized in Cold War frontier port Trieste this morning. The vessel, pictured this morning, is the world's largest sailing yacht
Sailing Yacht A, was registered in the UK by its owner. Melnichenko denies he has any political affiliations and suggested there is 'no justification' for placing him on the EU sanction list
Melnichenko's yacht had been earlier photographed in Venice on March 5
Melnichenko owned major fertiliser producer EuroChem Group and coal company SUEK. The companies said in statements on Thursday that he had resigned as a member of the board in both companies and withdrawn as their beneficiary, effective Wednesday.
A spokesperson for Melnichenko, Alex Andreev, said the businessman had 'no relation to the tragic events in Ukraine. He has no political affiliations'.
He said: 'There is no justification whatsoever for placing him on the EU sanctions list.
'We will be disputing these baseless and unjustified sanctions, and believe that the rule of law and common sense will prevail.
Last week Italian police seized villas and yachts worth £120m from five high-profile Russians who have been placed on the sanctions list.
The police operations were part of a coordinated drive by Western states to penalise wealthy Russians they say are linked to President Vladimir Putin.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10605889/Italian-Police-seize-worlds-biggest-sailing-yacht-owned-Andrey-Melnichenko.html
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