- A British crew has reportedly taken control of a $700 million superyacht linked to Vladimir Putin.
- Activists have said members of the previous crew were employed by Russia's Federal Security Service.
- The Scheherazade's captain, who is British, has denied that Putin is the ship's owner.
A 140-meter-long superyacht in Italy with reported links to Russian President Vladimir Putin is now under the control of an all-British crew, according to a local union official quoted by The Times of London.
"I have been told there was initially a mostly Russian crew but after the war broke out the Russians had to return to Russia, either to hide their identity or enlist," Paolo Gozzani, an official with the Italian union CGIL, said according to the Times. "A British crew then arrived."
Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Gozzani said roughly 20 crew members who are now missing had been serving the vessel, named Sheherazade, which is currently in dry dock undergoing repairs.
So far, the ship is not subject to legal seizure by Italian or EU authorities, but the Guardia di Finanza previously confirmed to Insider that investigations are under way.
The Scheherazade is worth $700 million and features six floors, two helipads, a swimming pool, a spa complex, and a beauty salon, according to a YouTube video posted by two activists who are working with the imprisoned Putin opponent Alexei Navalny.
At least 10 officers of Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSO, were identified by activists as being crew-members of the Scheherazade, though Insider wasn't able to independently confirm that.
Activists working with Navalny consider the crew-members' connection with the FSO to be evidence that Putin is the actual owner of the Scheherazade, even though its legal ownership is obscured.
The ship's captain, Bennett-Pearce, who is British, previously denied to the Times that the Scheherazade was directly owned by Putin, and that a "watertight nondisclosure agreement" forbade him from disclosing details.
"I have never seen him," he said. "I have never met him."
Meanwhile, Finnish authorities announced this week they are investigating 21 yachts for potential ties with Russian oligarchs.
In addition, the UK government has taken steps to prevent "a small number of yachts" from leaving the country over suspected links to oligarchs, and turned away 10 ships tied to Russia, according to transport secretary Grant Shapps.
