where is putin's yacht right now

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Satellite image shows super yacht linked to Putin out of reach of sanctions

By Catherine Herridge , Michael Kaplan, Andrew Bast, Jessica Kegu

March 3, 2022 / 7:30 AM EST / CBS News

As Europe and the U.S. bear down with a raft of aggressive sanctions targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, the super yacht he is believed to own has found safe harbor in a highly militarized port in Russian territorial waters. In new satellite imagery obtained by CBS News, the yacht can be seen docked in a port in Kaliningrad, near Russia's nuclear weapons operations. 

Experts say Putin's luxury vessel has become a symbol not only of his vast hidden wealth, but also of how challenging that money has been to find. 

"He's a KGB agent, so he's crafty. He knows how to hide when he needs to," said John Smith, former director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers and enforces all foreign sanctions.

Data from MarineTraffic, a global intelligence group, shows Putin's alleged yacht, the Graceful, left Germany two weeks before the invasion of Ukraine . 

Putin's government salary is said to be about $140,000, but that doesn't begin to explain the mansions, million-dollar watch collection and over-the-top yacht. 

"It would be fair to say he's among the richest men in the world," Smith said. 

Though he sells himself as a man of the people, his wealth is estimated to be more than $100 billion. 

Putin's critics allege he also has a cliffside palace that includes an amphitheater and a personal tunnel to the beach that doubles as a security bunker. 

"Of course, he doesn't acknowledge it as being his own," Smith said. "It doesn't fit with the public persona that he's trying to create to actually acknowledge it." 

Putin relies on his oligarch friends to shield his fortune from sanctions, Smith said. 

"So if he asked them to do something, they do it in terms of hiding assets, squirreling them in different parts of the globe, they will do what he needs," he said. 

Those who have tried to expose Putin's fortune have done so at great personal risk. 

Putin critic Boris Nemtsov was assassinated on a bridge in the shadow of the Kremlin in 2015. Sergei Magnitsky died in 2009 under questionable circumstances in prison after he exposed $230 million in fraud by Putin's friends. Putin publicly condemned Nemtsov's murder and claimed Magnitsky died of a heart attack.  

His most recent No. 1 critic, Alexei Navalny , who helped expose Putin's lavish palace, emerged as a political rival and found himself repeatedly jailed. He nearly died after being poisoned two years ago, though Putin has denied responsibility for the poisoning. 

"Putin's wealth is one of the most dangerous topics," said Russian journalist Roman Badanin, who spent two decades investigating Putin's financial web. 

Badanin said Russian authorities sought to intimidate and silence his reporting team. Six months ago, he reached his breaking point. 

"I fled the country. My apartment was searched twice. I have like three criminal charges against me back in Russia," he said. 

In his State of the Union address, President Biden said the U.S. and its allies are waging economic war on Putin and Russian oligarchs. 

"We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments and your private jets," Biden said. 

On Wednesday, the Justice Department announced the formation of a new task force that would target Russian oligarchs. 

"Russia is not a transparent economy," Smith said. "The U.S. and our allies have decent information on some of [Putin's] assets, I think a lot will remain a mystery for a long time in the future." 

The biggest financial hit for Putin would be sanctions on the energy sector, which Smith says the Russian president has used to build up his wealth for years. So far, Washington and the Europeans have been hesitant to do that. 

• Vladimir Putin

Catherine Herridge is a senior investigative correspondent for CBS News covering national security and intelligence based in Washington, D.C.

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Vladimir Putin's $700M Superyacht Is Docked in Italy: Russian Opposition

A yacht worth an estimated $700 million, which is currently docked in Italy, may belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin , according to jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny 's organization.

The Scheherazade , one of the world's largest superyachts whose owner has not been publicly named, is currently stationed in the Marina di Carrara port on Italy's west coast in Tuscany.

According to a video released on Monday by journalist Maria Pevchikh and activist Georgy Alburov—both of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) set up by Navalny—the 459-foot ship is owned by Putin and its crew includes members of Russia's Federal Protective Service (FSO), who are tasked with protecting the Russian president.

The 15-minute video detailing the allegations was published online one day before Navalny, one of the most prominent and outspoken Putin critics, was found guilty of large-scale fraud and contempt by a Russian court and faces a further 13 years in jail.

Navalny, who alleged that he was poisoned by the Kremlin in 2020, is already serving a three-and-a-half year sentence over allegations he violated the terms of his suspended sentence following a 2014 conviction for money laundering.

The video, which has already been viewed nearly 2.5 million times on YouTube, discussed how Putin would be affected by the European Union's sanctions against Russia in the wake of the country's invasion of Ukraine if he owns property in the EU .

The clips then alleges that the Scheherazade , complete with a two helicopter decks, a cinema and a swimming pool, may actually belong to Putin after obtaining a crew list detailing who works on the luxury vessel.

Alburov noted that many of these crew members allegedly work for the FSO, the agency that "protects Putin and organizes his life." Some crew members are either listed outright as working for the FSO, or their addresses are identical to the headquarters of the FSO's Caucasus branch, said Alburov.

• Ukraine War Live: Russia 'Flummoxed' and Putin's Back 'Against the Wall'
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• Oligarch Roman Abramovich Sends Superyacht to Turkey to Avoid Sanctions

The foundation also said it had spoken to one of the crew members, who confirmed that the superyacht is owned by Putin.

The New York Times previously reported that Putin may own the vessel. The ship's captain, British national Guy Bennett-Pearce, denied the allegation and said the Russian president has never even been on the yacht.

"I have never seen him. I have never met him," he told The New York Times . Bennett-Pearce added that the yacht's owner is not on any sanctions list but did not rule out that whoever it is could be Russian.

Italian police and U.S. officials have already launched investigations into who owns the Scheherazade, but have so far failed to come up with any concrete conclusions.

As noted by Pevchikh, the yacht hasn't been seized yet because authorities have been unable to find its owner.

"With a very simple open source search we managed to identify at least ten FSO officers that are listed as personnel members of Scheherezade ," Pevchikh tweeted on Monday. "They are Russian state employees, military personnel, and they regularly travel to Italy as a group to work on the mysterious yacht.

"To sum up, a dozen of Vladimir Putin's personal guards and servants are constantly maintaining one of the world's largest yachts docked in an Italian port. We think that this is a solid enough proof that Scheherazade belongs to Putin himself and must be immediately seized."

On Tuesday, Navalny was found guilty of fraud and contempt charges, which he and his supporters say were fabricated in order to end his political ambitions, reported Reuters.

He was jailed last year after surviving a poison attack from a nerve agent, which he said was ordered by Moscow. The Kremlin has frequently denied attempting to assassinate one of Russia's most vocal critics of Putin.

Navalny is expected to be sentenced on Tuesday, March 22.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has been contacted for comment.

About the writer

Ewan Palmer is a Newsweek News Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on US politics, domestic policy and the courts. He joined Newsweek in February 2018 after spending several years working at the International Business Times U.K., where he predominantly reported on crime, politics and current affairs. Prior to this, he worked as a freelance copywriter after graduating from the University of Sunderland in 2010. Languages: English.

You can get in touch with Ewan by emailing [email protected].

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Here are the superyachts seized from Russian oligarchs

As part of an international pressure campaign on Russia, authorities from around the world have seized more than a half-dozen superyachts belonging to billionaire oligarchs allied with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The yacht seizures since the Feb. 24 invasion are "just the beginning," White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in March, as an international task force worked to identify further assets that can be seized or frozen.

“The Justice Department will be relentless in our efforts to hold accountable those who facilitate the death and destruction we are witnessing in Ukraine,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said of the ongoing efforts in May.

Here are the superyachts government officials have seized since Russia invaded Ukraine last month.

The Justice Department announced May 5 that the Fijian government had seized billionaire oligarch Suleiman Kerimov 's 348-foot yacht Amadea. The vessel, which is valued at more than $300 million , arrived in Fiji last month. Kerimov, who's worth an estimated $14 billion and has ties to the Russian government, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department over alleged money laundering in 2018.

Special features on the sprawling yacht include a helipad, infinity pool, a jacuzzi and multiple bars, according to a report in Boat International . It can accommodate 16 overnight guests in addition to 36 crew members, the report said.

In April, Spanish law-enforcement officials seized a 255-foot yacht called the Tango, which Justice Department says is owned by oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Vekselberg is an aluminum magnate who the Treasury Department says has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Tango is worth an estimated $90 million, prosecutors said , and Vekselberg allegedly purchased it through shell companies. The 11-year-old yacht has seven staterooms and reportedly includes amenities such as a pool, gym and beauty salon .

Authorities in Italy seized a 215-foot superyacht called the Lady M this month. It's owned by Alexei Mordashov, Russia's richest businessman, and it’s estimated to be worth $27 million . The vessel, which requires a crew of 14, has six guest cabins , a pool and a gym.

But it pales in comparison to another of Mordashov's yachts, the $500 million Nord . The 464-foot vessel, which has two helipads and a waterfall and can accommodate 36 guests, was anchored this month in the Seychelles, where the U.S. and European Union sanctions don’t apply.

Italian officials also seized the 132-foot superyacht Lena, owned by the energy magnate Gennady Timchenko. Estimated to be worth $8 million, it has five cabins and can accommodate 10 guests.

SY A — short for Sailing Yacht A — is one of the world's largest superyachts. Valued at over $440 million, the 469-foot vessel, owned by the fertilizer magnate Andrey Melnichenko, has eight decks, multiple elevators, an underwater observation area and the world's tallest masts . It was seized in the Italian port of Trieste.

Authorities in Spain seized Sergei Chemezov's Valerie, a 279-foot superyacht that had been moored in Barcelona. Chemezov , a former KGB officer, heads the state conglomerate Rostec. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez touted the seizure on La Sexta television. “We are talking about a yacht that we estimate is worth $140 million,” Sanchez said.

Officials in France announced this month that they had seized the 289-foot Amore Vero, which was undergoing repairs in a shipyard near Marseille. When they arrived, authorities said, they found the crew preparing for an urgent departure, even though the repair work was scheduled to last through April. The $120 million boat, which has seven cabins , is linked to Igor Sechin, described by the U.S. Treasury Department as a close ally of Putin's.

Dareh Gregorian is a politics reporter for NBC News.

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Scheherazade: Giant £570m superyacht ‘owned by Vladimir Putin’ is seized by Italian authorities

The ‘scheherazade’ had been undergoing a refit in tuscany since last september, article bookmarked.

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The Italian government has seized a luxury superyacht worth an estimated £570m that is believed to be linked to Russian president Vladimir Putin .

The vessel was impounded as part of the EU’s sanctions against Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine , under which similar yachts belonging to Russian oligarchs have been confiscated.

The six-deck Scheherazade had been undergoing repairs in the port of Marina di Carrara in Tuscany since last September. Recent activity at the dockside suggested that the crew were preparing to put the yacht to sea, as calls grew for it to be included in the sanctions.

The Italian finance ministry said in a statement that the owner of the yacht had ties to “prominent elements of the Russian government”, without naming them. US officials have previously told The New York Times that the vessel could belong to Mr Putin, though there has been no official confirmation of this.

Supporters of the imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny were also of the belief that the vessel belonged to the Russian president. In a report released in March , an organisation set up by Mr Navalny said it had evidence that the boat belonged to Mr Putin, as several crew members were drawn from Russia’s Federal Protective Service (FSO), which is tasked with protecting the president.

In March, the ship’s British captain, Guy Bennett-Pearce, denied that Mr Putin had ever owned or set foot on the Scheherezade . “I have never seen him. I have never met him,” he told the The New York Times .

Days later, Mr Bennett-Pearce said he had been left with “no choice” but to reveal the owner’s identity to the Italian police, adding: “I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever that this will clear the vessel of all negative rumours and speculations.”

Police boarded the yacht – which is over 450ft long and has two helicopter landing pads – late on Friday to execute the order, the government said.

Officials said they had struggled to identify the real owner of the boat, as it is registered in the Cayman Islands and was built by the German firm Lürssen. The yacht was delivered to its owner in 2020 and can host up to 18 guests and 40 crew, Reuters reported.

Italian authorities said the owner was not on any sanctions lists drawn up by Brussels since Mr Putin’s declaration of war on 24 February, although Rome has asked Brussels to rectify this.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, while addressing the Italian parliament in March, urged the government to impound the yacht as part of the EU’s efforts to put pressure on Mr Putin.

Italy confiscated yachts and villas worth over £770m in March and April from Russian billionaires with close ties to Mr Putin, in a bid to hurt Moscow financially.

Earlier in March, Italy seized a £530m megayacht owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, as oligarchs around the world scrambled to save their yachts and other luxury assets from western governments.

And in April the German authorities seized the world’s largest superyacht, Dilbar , sprawling over 512ft, which belonged to billionaire Alisher Usmanov before he transferred its ownership to his sister.

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US intelligence officials believe a $700 million superyacht that's docked in Italy could belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports say

• US officials say a superyacht docked in Italy could belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin. 
• People briefed on the intelligence, however, said no set conclusions have been made, per The NYT. 
• The $700 million superyacht is currently docked on the Tuscan coast of Italy. 

US authorities believe a $700 million superyacht that's docked in Italy could belong to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The New York Times reported the news, citing several people briefed on the information.

The superyacht, called the Scheherazade, which is currently situated on the Tuscan coast of Italy first came to light after The Times reported Tuesday that Italian authorities were examining the 459-foot-long vessel. 

While some believed it could belong to a Russian oligarch, locals told The Times they nicknamed it "Putin's yacht." 

Following the invasion of Ukraine , Russia has been hit with wide-ranging sanctions targeting oligarchs and their luxury assets . Superyachts have come under particular scrutiny in recent weeks.

US intelligence officials have not concluded who owns the Scheherazade but said they found initial indications that it was associated with Putin, per The Times.

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The people with knowledge of the matter would not describe what information led them to believe the superyacht was linked to the Russian President, according to the publication. 

The ship's captain, Guy Bennett-Pearce, told reporters earlier this week that Putin was not the owner of the ship and that he had never been on the yacht. He didn't, however, rule out the possibility of the owner being Russian. 

Meanwhile, the US and the other countries are doubling down on efforts to confiscate oligarchs' high-end assets.

"We are joining with our European allies to find and seize your yachts, your luxury apartments, your private jets," President Joe Biden said  in his State of The Union address on March 1. "We are coming for your ill-begotten gains."

Some oligarchs have scrambled to try and escape the sanctions against them, taking their private jets and ships to places like Dubai and the Maldives . 

Others like Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich are resorting to selling off their assets .

The Scheherazade has been undergoing repairs since June 2020 in the small Italian town of Marina di Carrara. Its features include a helicopter landing pad, a large pool, a cinema, and a drone crashing system, according to Superyacht Fan . 

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Russian crew aboard a superyacht possibly linked to Putin have left their jobs, workers say.

U.S. officials have said the Scheherezade, which is dry-docked in Italy, could be owned by the Russian leader.

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By Gaia Pianigiani

• March 24, 2022

Russian crew members on a mysterious $700-million luxury yacht that U.S. officials say could be owned by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia abruptly left their jobs and the Tuscan coastal town where it is undergoing repairs a couple of weeks ago amid scrutiny of the vessel, local union leaders and workers say.

The crew members had been fixtures in the small port of Marina di Carrara since the fall of 2020, when the 459-foot-long yacht, Scheherazade, arrived at a dry dock less than four months after being built. No owner has been publicly identified.

“They were replaced by a British crew,” said Paolo Gozzani, the local leader of Italy’s General Confederation of Labor trade union, on Wednesday. “I don’t know and don’t care whether the yacht is indeed Putin’s or not, but I worry about the repercussions on shipyard workers if police impound or confiscate the vessel.”

Workers at the shipyard and regular visitors to its private lounge confirmed that the Russians had routinely supervised the work done on the yacht and had drinks at the bar or played pool there in the evenings. The yacht, estimated by the website SuperYachtFan to cost about $700 million, has two helicopter decks, a swimming pool with a retractable cover that converts to a dance floor and a gym.

This week, the research team of Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, published a video in which it argued, based on a 2020 crew manifest, that a dozen of the Russian crew members of the Scheherazade either worked for or had a connection with Russia’s Federal Protective Service. The team drew the conclusion that the yacht must belong to Mr. Putin or some of his closest aides.

The Scheherazade’s real ownership is hidden by various shell companies. American officials said this month they had found initial indications that it was linked to Mr. Putin but would not describe what information they had.

In an interview with The New York Times this month, the yacht’s captain, Guy Bennett-Pearce, declined to disclose the name of the owner, but denied that Mr. Putin owned or had ever been on the yacht. Mr. Bennett-Pearce said Thursday he wouldn’t comment further until an investigation by Italian authorities was finished.

Italy’s financial police have been looking into Scheherazade’s ownership for weeks. Italian investigators wouldn’t comment on Thursday, saying that the investigation was continuing.

In a speech to Italy’s Parliament this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Italy to prevent Russians from vacationing in the country, as well as to freeze their assets, bank accounts and yachts, “f rom the Scheherazade to the smallest ones .”

Italian authorities have frozen over 800 million euros in assets from Russian oligarchs on the European sanctions list, including villas in Sardinia, Tuscany, Liguria and the Lake Como area, and three yachts.

Gaia Pianigiani is a reporter based in Italy for The New York Times.  More about Gaia Pianigiani

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A $49M Russian superyacht has been detained by U.K. officials near London

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The newly-detained superyacht Phi is pictured while docked in Canary Wharf in east London on Tuesday. James Manning - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images hide caption

The newly-detained superyacht Phi is pictured while docked in Canary Wharf in east London on Tuesday.

Officials in the United Kingdom say they've detained a Russian-owned superyacht docked near London, a first under new sanctions imposed over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The $49.67 million yacht, which is named Phi, belongs to an unnamed Russian businessman and was docked in the Canary Wharf financial district of London, according to the government.

"Today we've detained a 38 million pound superyacht and turned an icon of Russia's power and wealth into a clear and stark warning to Putin and his cronies," Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement reported by Reuters . "Detaining the Phi proves, yet again, that we can and will take the strongest possible action against those seeking to benefit from Russian connections."

France seizes its first yacht as the West pledges to crack down on Russian oligarchs

Ukrainian sailors tried to block a Russian oligarch's yacht from docking in Turkey

A spokesperson for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this is the first time a Russian superyacht has been detained in U.K. waters, according to SkyNews — which added that the government later clarified that the unidentified owner of the vessel is not currently subject to U.K. sanctions.

Officials said the yacht's ownership is "deliberately well hidden." The company it's registered to is based in the Caribbean islands of St. Kitts and Nevis, but the ship itself carries Maltese flags, purportedly to hide its origins.

Reuters reports that Phi was in Canary Wharf for a superyacht awards ceremony and was planning to depart today.

But the yacht won't be leaving anytime soon, according to Shapps.

"When you see what he's doing to Ukraine, when you see what he's doing to people's lives, it can't be right to have a yacht like this here in London, able to just sail away and that is why we've impounded it, and denied it ability to go anywhere right now, and it's another indication of how seriously we take these matters," he said.

Why so many Russian billionaires are called oligarchs

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How putin conquered russia's oligarchy.

Phi measures more than 190 feet long. It was completed in 2021 by Dutch builder Royal Huisman , which said it was set to be the longest sub-500GT yacht in the world. Its amenities include a freshwater swimming pool that converts into a sealed tank and an "infinite wine cellar," according to Boat International .

It also boasts a laser-powered exterior lighting system, Auto Evolution reports , and is accompanied by what is called a shadow vessel — "where all the water toys and additional equipment can be carried, in order to free up even more space on the mothership." The 118-foot shadow vessel, Phi Phantom , can reportedly fit a "huge tender and a boat," personal watercraft, motorbikes, additional fuel and a car.

Officials said that they first flagged the yacht as being potentially Russian-owned on March 13 and that the Department for Transport, National Crime Agency and Border Force Maritime Investigation Bureau worked together to identify and detain it.

The transportation department said it's also looking at a number of other vessels and hopes that its "strong stance sends an example to international partners."

This story first appeared in the Morning Edition live blog .

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Breaking news, inside putin’s $700m yacht, complete with gold toilet paper holder.

This yacht makes a Bond villain’s boat look like a dinghy.

Vladimir Putin, whose forces continue to attack Ukraine , spared no expense on his alleged $700 million superyacht, which comes complete with its own dance floor — and even golden toilet paper holders. Rumors that the boat belonged to him have been swirling since its construction; however, anti-Kremlin activists recently claimed that it is indeed Putin’s .

“It’s like a mini city,” an unnamed worker reportedly involved in its construction told the Sun of the 495-foot luxury vessel, which is moored in Marina di Carrara in Italy. “There are countless swimming pools, a spa, a sauna, a theatre, ballrooms, a gym, two helipads.” 

Known as Scheherazade — after the iconic Persian queen from literature — the opulent watercraft was reportedly estimated at £500 million ($6.6 million), although insider sources price it closer to £750 million ($990 million).

And it appears that Putin put his money where his boat is: Photos obtained by the Sun show the veritable maritime mansion and its six floors of swanky amenities. They include a 16-foot aquarium, multiple televisions — including a 15-foot beast spanning an entire wall — and a self-leveling pool table so that guests can play even when the sea turns turbulent.

There are also bathrooms outfitted with King Midas-evoking gold taps and toilet paper holders, plus a tile dance floor that converts into a pool. Scheherazade is thought to be one of only two ships in the world with that feature, the Sun reported; the other is Putin’s second yacht, Graceful.

Along with standard bling, the Russian president decked out the superyacht with personal touches, including a judo room with framed pictures of black belts, plus various books showcasing the autocrat’s worship of wealth.

“Every surface is either marble or gold,” an unnamed boatbuilder told the Sun of the glitzy vessel, which the worker finds especially obscene in light of current events.

“It is hard to swallow the fact that the most incredible ship in the world is owned by a man intent on bombing civilians in Ukraine,” he continued. “And it is an unimaginable amount of wealth when the average Russian’s salary is £5,000 a year, and people there are struggling to eat.”

The ritzy ship isn’t just built for pleasure cruises. Much like the baddie’s superyacht in the movie “Thunderball,” Scheherazade can supposedly transform from a party boat to a battleship in a flash with a state-of-the-art security system reportedly capable of shooting down drones.

If that wasn’t ostentatious enough, the superyacht-cum-aircraft-carrier also contains two helipads and a hangar than can house a helicopter, six Jet Skis, five dinghies and eight Seabob underwater scooters.

Scheherazade was built over two years ago. However, the vessel’s alleged ties to Putin came to light recently after activists affiliated with jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny claimed that some of the crewmembers worked for the Federal Security Service, which handles the Russian leader’s security.

“To sum up, a dozen of Vladimir Putin’s personal guards and servants are constantly maintaining one of the world’s largest yachts docked in an Italian port,” investigative journalist and Navalny ally Maria Pevchikh wrote on Twitter Monday.

Meanwhile, during a Tuesday address to the Italian parliament, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky implored Italy to confiscate the assets of Putin and his supporters, who he claimed frequently traveled to Italy, the Guardian reported .

“Don’t be a resort for murderers,” he said, urging Italian authorities to seize every yacht “from the Scheherazade to the smallest ones.”

The ship is currently being investigated by authorities for potential ties to sanctioned Russians.

See the full set of image at The Sun

Despite the accusations, the Scheherazade’s British captain, Guy Bennett-Pearce, has denied that Putin has ever owned or even set foot on the vessel.

“I have never seen him. I have never met him,”  he told the New York Times , adding that the vessel’s owner was not on any sanctions list.

Earlier in March, Italian officials seized several superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs, including Alexey Mordashov’s 213-foot vessel , Gennady Timchenko’s 132-foot watercraft and Audrey Melnichenko’s $578 million, 469-foot superyacht.

The seizures are among the latest efforts to hit Putin and those close to him over Russia’s brutal assault against Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24. 

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Putin Linked To Two More Superyachts: Report

That brings his total to 10 yachts, which is arguably too many yachts for one person to own.

When he’s not busy getting innocent people in Ukraine killed because he started an unnecessary war he’s now unlikely to ever win, Russian President Vladimir Putin likes to relax on a collection of superyachts , a collection that has apparently grown by two.

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Dossier Centre investigators found the yachts that it believes are used by Putin and people in his inner circle, Yahoo reports . The first is the Victoria, a 233-foot-long superyacht that was built at Russia’s Sevmash military facility and is currently being repaired at a Turkish shipyard. The second is the 125-foot Orion that reportedly serves as an escort vehicle.

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The Victoria took 14 years to build and cost more than $50 million, Yahoo reports. It has the capacity to hold up to 28 people, but that usually includes a crew of between 11 and 15. When investigating the yacht with a drone, the Dossier Centre spotted a large V displayed on board. While the Victoria is usually stationed in Sochi, it reportedly travels to Cape Idokopas where Putin has a palace, although it is said to turn off its automatic identification system before it reaches the cape.

Proving that Putin actually owns his yachts can be a difficult task, as it’s believed he uses legal trickery to make it all but impossible to find a direct link between his yachts and himself. By using shell companies owned by other shell companies , Russian oligarchs create all kinds of obstacles for investigators attempting to determine who owns what yacht. It also appears that Putin “borrows” yachts from fellow wealthy Russians.

Social media, however, can be an incredibly useful tool. The Victoria was recently spotted in an Instagram post from Natalia Belugina, a gymnast and choreographer who is known to be friends with Alina Kabaeva who is also a gymnast and said to be Putin’s mistress. A source also claimed that Kabaeva and her family regularly use the yacht.

In a statement, Dossier said, “Vladimir Putin was never photographed on the Victoria, so there is no direct documentary evidence that the yacht belongs to him. However, as with other Russian president’s yachts, there is plenty of indirect evidence: a specially selected crew, the ship’s route, passing close to the presidential palace, the nominal owner, and the unusual construction history.”

While the Victoria is impressively large, it still pales in comparison to the $700 million, 459-foot-long Scheherazade , which was seized by Italian authorities back in 2022.