プーチン氏が所有か　伊当局、豪華ヨットを捜査

【ＡＦＰ＝時事】イタリア・トスカーナ州マッサの造船所に、全長１４０メートルの豪華ヨットが停泊している。ロシアのウラジーミル・プーチン大統領が所有している可能性があるとの臆測が広がり、伊当局が捜査に乗り出している。（写真はイタリア・トスカーナ州マッサの造船所のドックに入った豪華ヨット「シェヘラザード」）
「シェヘラザード」と名付けられたヨットは推定７億ドル（約８６０億円）で、ドイツの造船会社リュールセンが２０２０年に建造した。豪華ヨットやその所有者を紹介するウェブサイトによると、二つのヘリポートやプール、映画館を備えている。
　ロシアが先月ウクライナに侵攻して以降、欧州ではロシアの新興財閥（オリガルヒ）が所有するヨット数隻が差し押さえられている。仮にヨットがプーチン大統領につながるとすれば、最も注目を集める事案となる。
　当局筋はＡＦＰに対し、捜査は数日以内に終わる可能性があるとしながらも、「所有者を割り出すのは常に容易とは限らない」と述べた。
　収監されているロシア反体制派指導者アレクセイ・ナワリヌイ氏の反汚職団体が２１日にユーチューブに投稿した動画には、英国人の船長を除いて乗組員は全員ロシア人で、プーチン大統領につながる数人の警備担当者が含まれているとの指摘があった。
　しかし地元の造船所の労働者らで構成する団体の代表が２３日に語ったところによると、クルーはここ数日のうちに全員英国人に変わった。理由は不明だという。
　米紙ニューヨーク・タイムズは、ヨットがプーチン大統領につながっているとの証拠を米当局が入手していると報じている。今月同紙のインタビューに応じた英国人船長は、大統領は所有者ではなく乗船したこともないと主張したものの、所有者の名前は明かしていない。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/03/28-09:24）

In a dry dock in the Tuscan seaside town of Massa stands the Scheherazade, the most infamous yacht in Italy today due to speculation it could belong to Vladimir Putin.
With its bow facing the Mediterranean, the 140-metre craft worth an estimated $700 million is the subject of a probe into its ownership by Italy's financial police.
Several yachts belonging to Russian oligarchs have already been seized in Europe since Moscow invaded Ukraine last month. The seizure of the Scheherazade, however, would be the most spectacular were its provenance indeed traced to the Russian president.
For several months, it has been parked for maintenance work at The Italian Sea Group's shipyard at the Marina di Carrara, within the western seaside town of Massa not far from Tuscany's famous marble quarries of Carrara.
On Wednesday, an AFPTV journalist witnessed no obvious signs of activity on board, although some men were working nearby.
A source close to the ongoing probe by Italy's financial police told AFP that the investigation could be wrapped up within days.
We are in a phase of delving deeper and it's generally more complicated, said the source. It's not always easy to attribute ownership.
- Crew changes -
Built by Germany's Lurssen in 2020, the yacht features two helipads, a swimming pool and a movie theatre, according to the SuperYachtFan website, which researches yachts and their owners.
News reports say the Scheherazade, which flies the Cayman Islands flag, is owned by a company registered in the Marshall Islands.
Its captain is British, but the rest of the crew is Russian, according to researchers at the anti-corruption foundation of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, which on Monday posted a video on YouTube attributing the yacht to Putin.
Researchers cited a crew list in their possession that included several members of Russia's federal protective service, which is charged with Putin's security.
But on Wednesday Paolo Gozzani, the head of the local CGIL union, which includes shipyard workers, said the crew of the Scheherazade had suddenly changed in recent days.
The crew was exclusively made up of Russian personnel, Gozzani told AFP.
And then suddenly all the staff was changed with a British crew, and the reasons are still not clear.
The New York Times has reported that US authorities have collected evidence linking Putin to the luxury ship, which made two trips, in 2020 and 2021, to the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
The Italian Sea Group said in a statement the yacht was not attributable to the property of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Its assessment was based on the documentation in its possession and following the findings of the checks carried out by the relevant authorities, said the shipyard's owner.
- 'Seize them all' -
Interviewed by the New York Times earlier this month, the British captain of the Scheherazade said Putin was not the owner of the ship and that the Russian president had never set foot on board. Refusing to give the owner's name, the captain said it was no one facing current sanctions.
In an address to the Italian parliament on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Italy, a popular Russian resort destination, to seize all financial and real estate assets of the oligarchs, including yachts, from the Scheherazade to the smallest.
Since Moscow's February 24 invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing European Union sanctions, Italian authorities have seized over 800 million euros ($877 million) of assets belonging to Russian oligarchs, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said Tuesday.
That includes the Sailing Yacht A, the 530-million-euro sailing-assisted motor yacht linked to Russian billionaire Andrei Melnichenko, a coal and fertiliser tycoon on the EU's blacklist.
Italy also seized the 65-million-euro Lady M Yacht belonging to Alexei Mordashov, a Russian steel billionaire reputedly close to Vladimir Putin.
The sanctions, said Draghi, have severely affected the economy and financial markets of Russia, as well as the personal assets of the people closest to President Putin.