All at the expense of taxes: Italy spends millions of euros on the maintenance of arrested Russian yachts

Italy spends millions of dollars each year on the maintenance of the seized yachts of Russian oligarchs who were sanctioned after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The costs include crew salaries, security, fuel, insurance and maintenance of the vessels.

This is reported by CNN .

One of the most expensive objects of detention was the sailing yacht “A” of Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko. The 142-meter vessel, estimated at about $ 600 million, was undergoing maintenance in the Italian port of Trieste in March 2022, when sanctions against Russian oligarchs began to be imposed. The yacht has remained under arrest since then.

According to Trieste Mayor Roberto Dipiazzi, the ship costs about $30,000 a day, or almost $11 million a year, to maintain. This money goes, among other things, to salaries for the 20 crew members, fuel for the generators, security and insurance.

“In the end, it will be cheaper for him to buy a new yacht than to reimburse everything we spent,” said DiPiazzi, commenting on the possibility of returning the vessel to the owner if the sanctions are lifted.

According to journalists, Italian law obliges the state to maintain seized vessels in good condition. In 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld Italy’s right to continue the seizure of Melnichenko’s yacht.

Another expensive object was the 142-meter yacht “Scheherazade”, which is located in the port of Marina di Carrara. Its cost is estimated at 700 million dollars. Formally, the ship is associated with the former head of Rosneft, Eduard Khudainatov, but Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny claimed that the actual owner is Vladimir Putin. According to local press reports, the maintenance of the yacht has already cost taxpayers in Tuscany more than 15 million dollars.

In addition, Italy pays for the maintenance of the Lady M and Lena yachts, which are associated with Russian billionaires Alexei Mordashov and Gennady Timchenko. Some local authorities believe it is inappropriate to impose the costs of maintaining the oligarchs’ yachts on taxpayers.

Other European countries are taking different approaches to seized vessels. Gibraltar, for example, auctioned the yacht Axioma for $37.5 million, while Montenegro left the confiscated yacht Luminosity to decay in port.

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