Italy has ordered the seizure of a $700 million yacht linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the BBC reported on Saturday.
The Scheherazade has been undergoing repairs at a port in Tuscany since September last year.
Italy's finance ministry said its owner had ties to "prominent factors of the Russian government".
It has been seized under EU sanctions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, where other ships have also been confiscated.
The exact owner of Scheherazade has not yet been revealed, but US officials told the New York Times that it may belong to the Russian president.
Supporters of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have also linked the ship to Putin.
also
Italy fears that Putin's Scheherazade may slip out of its hands
Many superyachts are linked to Russian billionaires, but ownership is secret.
Some of them have already been captured by Western countries.
