For several months, the six-story superyacht has been moored off the coast of Tuscany in Italy, fueling discussions about the wealthy owner.
"It's the biggest yacht I've ever seen here," said Suzy Dimitrova, who owns a vessel in the navy. "There are non-stop people cleaning it. The last time I saw him stop here was last year. We are all thinking who is the owner".
Sheherzadja, believed to be worth $700 million, is being investigated by Italian authorities for possible ties to sanctioned Russian oligarchs. And activists working with imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have no doubt that the yacht's owner is Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Monday, investigative journalist Maria Pevchikh and anti-corruption activist Georgy Alburov said all crew members, based on a list dated December 2020, were Russian, except for the captain. In a YouTube video, they stated that part of the yacht's staff worked for the Russian Defense Service, the agency that deals with the security of high-ranking officials, including Putin.
Activists, who have asked the Italian authorities to confiscate the yacht, have said that this evidence is enough to prove that the property belongs to Putin.
Inside the luxury yacht there are swimming pools, massage areas and spas.
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Italy fears that Putin's Scheherazade may slip out of its hands
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also requested to confiscate the yacht.
