By Crispian Balmer and Emilio Parodi

ROME (Reuters) -Italian police have seized villas and yachts price 143 million euros ($156 million) from 5 high-profile Russians who have been positioned on sanctions lists following Moscow’s assault on Ukraine, the federal government stated on Saturday.

The posh properties have been sequestered in a few of Italy’s most prestigious retail property areas – the island of Sardinia, by Lake Como and in Tuscany – whereas two superyachts have been grabbed at their moorings in northern ports.

The police operations have been a part of a coordinated drive by Western states to penalise rich Russians and attempt to pressure President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his troops from Ukraine.

A listing issued by Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s workplace confirmed probably the most helpful asset now in police fingers is a 65 metre (215 ft) yacht, the “Woman M”, which has a price ticket of 65 million euros and belonged to Russia’s richest man, Alexey Mordashov.

It was impounded within the port of Imperia.

A second luxurious vessel, the Lena, was seized within the close by port of Sanremo. It was price some 50 million euros and was owned by Gennady Timchenko, whom Putin has described as one in every of his closet associates.

Billionaire businessman Alisher Usmanov had a villa price 17 million euros seized on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, whereas Oleg Savchenko, a member of the Russian parliament, had his seventeenth century home close to the Tuscan metropolis of Lucca, price some 3 million euros, taken from him.

An undisclosed variety of properties valued at 8 million euros have been confiscated in Como from state TV host Vladimir Soloviev, who reportedly complained https://tinyurl.com/2p8994kf on Russian tv when he discovered final month he risked dropping his Italian villas.

“However you instructed us that Europe has sacred property rights,” he was quoted saying by The Each day Beast.

Russian oligarchs have purchased quite a few villas in alternative Italian settings over the previous 20 years and sources have stated extra property are anticipated to be seized in coming days.

Uzbekistan-born metals and telecoms tycoon Usmanov is well-known in Italy for proudly owning a number of properties on Sardinia, whereas Italian media say Mordashov owned a villa price some 66 million euros ($72 million) on the identical island.

Considering the property of his entire household, Forbes journal estimates that Mordashov had an estimated web price of $29.1 billion earlier than sanctions hit.

Mirko Idili, a coordinator of the CISL union in Sardinia, has warned that the sanctions and a decreased presence of wealthy Russians this summer time might negatively have an effect on the island’s financial system and put greater than 1,000 jobs in danger.

Italian banks have been instructed by the Financial institution of Italy’s monetary intelligence division on Friday to urgently let it know of all measures taken to freeze the property of individuals and entities positioned on the EU checklist.

($1 = 0.9152 euros)