Three of the world’s largest yachts have been seized by authorities in the US and Italy in recent months. They are officially owned by Russian oligarch Eduard Khudainatov through their nested corporate structures. But Western investigators suspect that the luxury ships were in fact available to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his closest confidants.
Research by the “SonntagsZeitung” shows that the construction of hundreds of millions of expensive superyachts was partly financed by the small private bank Heritage in Geneva. Khudainatov has been a client of this bank since 2016.
Putin used Swiss financial center
Specifically, the construction of two of the three mega yachts is said to have been financed through accounts at Heritage. Including the $700 million Scheherazade ship with helipads seized in Italy this spring. A third yacht was, at least officially, owned by a former banker who lived on Lake Geneva. Russian oligarchs close to Putin used the Swiss financial center.
A Swiss financial manager was also involved in the yacht business. He temporarily became a shareholder in the company, which appears to be the owner of Scheherazade. It is believed that this yacht was gifted to Putin. (no)
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
