“Is it Putin's?”: It's yellow on the luxurious 140-meter yacht moored in Italy

A 140-meter long mega yacht with an estimated value of 700 million dollars is moored in Marina di Carrara: it is one of the largest, newest and most expensive superyachts in the world and the New York Times - which reports it - wonders if it is owned by Russia or even by President Vladimir Putin, as so far no probable owner has been publicly identified.

It is certain, reports the US newspaper, that the Scheherazade - as the mega yacht is called - is "under scrutiny by the Italian police": its captain, the British Guy Bennett-Pearce, reported that investigators boarded last Friday. and examined the documentation. And according to a source who wanted to remain anonymous, the Guardia di Finanza would have opened an investigation into the case.

In a telephone conversation with the NYT, Bennett-Pearce limited himself to denying that the Scheherazade is Putin's or that the Russian leader ever set foot there. The captain did not rule out that the owner is Russian, but claimed that he is not on any list of people affected by Western sanctions: Bennett-Pearce refused to say more about the owner's identity, citing a "non-disclosure agreement. waterproof".

Later, in a message sent to a New York Times reporter on Monday night, the captain said he "had no other choice" than to hand over to the Italian authorities the documents revealing the owner's identity, assuring that he would do so yesterday. . The authorities allegedly assured him that the documents would be treated with "confidentiality".

"I have no doubt that this will free the ship of all negative indiscretions and speculations," Bennett-Pearce wrote to the reporter.

The newspaper recalls that the mystery about the owner of the Scheherazade was also born because the name on the hull of the boat was covered and when the yacht arrived in the port a high metal barrier was erected on the pier to shelter it - at least in part. - from prying eyes: what has never happened before in Marina di Carrara, as some residents have commented.

(Unioneonline / vl)