Italy seizes $116 million property belonging to Russia's richest man, Alexei Mordashov

Advertisement
Italy seizes $116 million property belonging to Russia's richest man, Alexei Mordashov
Alexei Mordashov.Picture alliance/Getty Images
  • Italy seized property belonging to Alexei Mordashov for the second time this month.
  • The building complex, worth around $116 million, was seized on Friday, Reuters reported.
Advertisement

A building complex owned by Russian oligarch Alexei Mordashov was seized by Italian authorities on Friday, Prime Minister Mario Draghi's office announced.

The seizure of the property was first reported by Reuters.

Per the report, Mordashov's building complex is worth around $116 million and located in Portisco, on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.

Draghi's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Several billionaires, many of which are among Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, have recently been included in a series of sweeping global sanctions recently imposed against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Advertisement

This is the second time Italian officials seized assets belonging to the Mordashov as the Italian authorities seized his $71 million, 215-foot yacht in early March.

Earlier this month, Insider's Kate Duffy reported that Mordashov transferred control of a $1.1 billion stake in a mining company to his wife, per UK filings.

Mordashov, according to Forbes' data, is Russia's wealthiest man. He has an estimated net worth of $29.1 billion.

On March 1, he told TASS, the Russian news agency, that he didn't understand how sanctions imposed on him would help promote settlement of Russia's unprovoked attack in Ukraine.

He said: "I have absolutely nothing to do with the emergence of the current geopolitical tension and I do not understand why the EU has imposed sanctions on me."

Advertisement

Another Russian oligarch who has been sanctioned is Roman Abramovich, who wants to sell his £3 billion English soccer club, Chelsea FC. The sanctions imposed by the UK government have halted the sale, however.

A group of bipartisan lawmakers in Congress is also preparing to introduce the "Yachts for Ukraine" Act, which would allow authorities to seize and sell off Russian oligarchs' assets to provide aid to Ukraine.

{{}}