French seize superyacht owned by Russia’s ‘Darth Vader’
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(NewsNation Now) — In the world of the Russian super-rich, not even “true love” is safe.
That’s true, at least, for Igor Sechin, the CEO of the Russian state oil company Rosneft, who had his super-yacht seized by French authorities.
Sechin was the deputy prime minister of Russia in Vladimir Putin’s cabinet from 2008 to 2012 and is sometimes referred to as “Darth Vader” by Russian media.
His yacht, Amore Vero — Italian for “true love” — was undergoing repairs at a shipyard in the south of France, and Sechin tried to ensure that it would be able to slip away, weeks ahead of schedule.
French authorities, however, stepped in and seized it, according to a news release tweeted out by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.
A picture taken on March 3, 2022 in a shipyard of La Ciotat, near Marseille, southern France, shows a yacht, Amore Vero, owned by a company linked to Igor Sechin, chief executive of Russian energy giant Rosneft. – The French government on March 3 said it had seized in La Ciotat a superyacht owned by a company linked to Igor Sechin, chief executive of Russian energy giant Rosneft and close confidant of the Russian President, as part of the implementation of European Union sanctions against Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP) (Photo by NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Superyacht Fan, Amore Vero’s price tag is estimated to be $120 million.
The White House released a list of “Putin’s cronies,” and their families — ultrawealthy oligarchs — who will be targeted by the U.S. and other countries for continuing to support President Vladimir Putin “despite his brutal invasion of Ukraine.”
“The United States and governments all over the world will work to identify and freeze the assets Russian elites and their family members hold in our respective jurisdictions — their yachts, luxury apartments, money, and other ill-gotten gains,” the White House announced Thursday.
The Russian elites and their families will be cut off from U.S. financial systems and they will be blocked from using their assets in the United States, including property.
Peter Klein, founder and executive director of Global Reporting Centre, says Putin may not care all that much about wealth. However, the wealthy people who have been protecting Putin are being significantly impacted.
President Joe Biden said in a statement Thursday that these economic sanctions are having a “profound impact already.”
Ashleigh Banfield asks ‘What binds Putin to the oligarchs now? And vice versa?’