Vladimir Putin is set to get his hands back on a £570million superyacht as it prepares to flee Italy and avoid possible sanctions, it has been reported.
The Scheherazade was put in the water again this week after it was on the dry dock for repairs in the port Marina di Carrara.
Police in Italy are racing to finish their investigations into the ownership of the 459-foot vessel.
The superyacht which boasts of spas, swimming pools and two helipads has been moored in the Tuscan marina since September 2020.
Its ownership wasn't investigated until jailed Putin critic Alexei Navalny's team released a video alleging the crew were all from the Federal Protection Service (FSB).
The vessel has not been seized by Italian authorities and it can slip out of the marine at any time while it remains under police investigation.
A former crew member said the ship is likely to undergo equipment checks for the repair work before setting off, the New York Times reports.
Locals said it appears like crew members are preparing to leave.
Gabriele, the manager of a yacht club near the boat, told The Daily Telegraph : "We heard that it was going to leave the marina last night but maybe it was delayed because of the bad weather.
"It’s not been seized by the authorities so I guess it’s free to go at any time."
Italian authorities are still probing who owns the yacht, but local media have said it is owned by Eduard Khudainatov - an oil tycoon not currently under sanctions.
Khudainatov is an associate of Igor Sechin - a close Putin ally and chairman of the Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft.
Navalny has linked the vessel to Putin and claimed many of the yacht’s crew were members of the FSB.
Paolo Gozzani, the head of a union representing maritime workers in the Italian port, told The Telegraph: "We are still asking the authorities to tell us what is happening inside the shipyard of Marina di Carrara.
"There is a climate of omerta and secrecy with regard to these omnipotent mega-yacht owners.
"We want more transparency from all the public institutions. We have the right to know who we are working for."
It comes two months after Hackers Anonymous renamed Putin's £73million superyacht “FCKPTN” and made it look as though it had crashed into Snake Island.
The group broke into the vessel’s maritime data and changed its destination to “Hell”, before changing it to the small island where 13 Ukrainians stood up to a Russian warship at the start of the invasion.
It also changed the name of the yacht, which boasts a helipad and a swimming pool that converts into a dance floor, to Anonymous and Anonleaks before FCKPTN.
The group wrote on Twitter : “Now Putin's yacht is on the right track! ;) #FckPutin. With love, #Anonymous.”
