عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Italy Has Frozen Russian Oligarchs' Assets Worth over $2.6 Billion

Representation photo: The seized yatch 'Tango', which belongs to Renova Group head Viktor Vekselberg, moors in the port of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 04 April 2022. EPA/CATI CLADERA
Representation photo: The seized yatch 'Tango', which belongs to Renova Group head Viktor Vekselberg, moors in the port of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 04 April 2022. EPA/CATI CLADERA
TT
TT

Italy Has Frozen Russian Oligarchs' Assets Worth over $2.6 Billion

Representation photo: The seized yatch 'Tango', which belongs to Renova Group head Viktor Vekselberg, moors in the port of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 04 April 2022. EPA/CATI CLADERA
Representation photo: The seized yatch 'Tango', which belongs to Renova Group head Viktor Vekselberg, moors in the port of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 04 April 2022. EPA/CATI CLADERA

Italy has frozen Russian oligarchs' assets valued at around 2.3 billion euros ($2.64 billion) since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, data provided by Italian authorities show, with the most recent seizures occurring at the beginning of the month.

Italy seized assets - including bank accounts, luxury villas, yachts and cars - as part of the European Union's sanctions against the Kremlin and its backers.

The Bank of Italy had said that at the end of June 2023 their value amounted to 2.5 billion dollars, said Reuters.

This month it did not update the total amount, but said that the funds frozen due to sanctions against Russia totaled almost 280 million euros up to December 2024 — a 44 million euro increase from the previous year.

Separately, the tax police seized in early June an Iranian company based in Milan, Irital Shipping Lines, and two of its properties worth a total of more than 1 million euros, due to "Iran's military support for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine".

The company has not yet responded to a request for comment emailed by Reuters.

MAINTENANCE COSTS

Italy's State Property Agency holds all non-liquid assets frozen due to EU sanctions and the Italian government bears the costs of managing these assets during the freezing period.

According to the latest official data available, the costs incurred by the State for their maintenance amounted to 31.7 million euros up to February 2024.

When asked about the level of maintenance cost incurred by Italian taxpayers so far, the agency said it could not provide the information because it "is covered by official secrecy." Reuters calculation suggests that costs may have increased by around 15 million euros to more than 45 million euros to date.

The fate of these assets rests with the European Union.

If the EU decides to make the freezes permanent, the state must initiate proceedings to convert them into confiscations.

If Brussels decides to unfreeze them, the assets can be returned to their owners, provided that they pay Italy the maintenance costs incurred.

 

 

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Turkish Authorities Investigate Drone Crash Days after Shooting Down Another UAV

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Turkish Authorities Investigate Drone Crash Days after Shooting Down Another UAV

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, Türkiye September 30, 2020. (Reuters)

Authorities on Friday opened an investigation into an unmanned aerial vehicle that crashed in northwest Türkiye, just days after the country shot down another drone that entered its airspace from the Black Sea.

Residents in Kocaeli province discovered the damaged UAV in a field, prompting an official investigation into the wreckage, NTV news channel and other reports said.

An initial assessment indicates the aircraft could be a Russian‑made Orlan‑10 reconnaissance drone, the Interior Ministry said in a statement, adding that an investigation was ongoing, The AP news reported.

On Monday, Turkish F-16 fighter planes intercepted what officials described as an “out of control” drone after it violated the country’s airspace.

The defense ministry said that drone was destroyed in a safe location to protect civilians and air traffic. Türkiye's government subsequently warned both Russia and Ukraine to exercise greater caution over Black Sea security.

That shootdown came after a series of Ukrainian strikes on Russian “shadow fleet” of tankers off the Turkish coast, raising concerns in Türkiye about the risk of the war in Ukraine spilling over into the region.

The defense ministry said the drone that was shot down on Monday likely broke into small fragments that scattered over a wide area, complicating efforts to identify it. Search and technical analysis efforts were still underway, it said.

World

UK Imposes Sanctions on Perpetrators of Violence Against Syrian Civilians

FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, the Union Flag flies on the top of 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence in London. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, FILE)
FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, the Union Flag flies on the top of 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence in London. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, FILE)
TT
TT

UK Imposes Sanctions on Perpetrators of Violence Against Syrian Civilians

FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, the Union Flag flies on the top of 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence in London. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, FILE)
FILE - In this file photo dated Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, the Union Flag flies on the top of 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister's official residence in London. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, FILE)

Britain ​imposed sanctions on Friday on individuals and organizations it said were linked to violence perpetrated against civilians in Syria, including some who financially supported former president Bashar al-Assad's government.

While Britain ‌has eased some ‌sanctions on ‌Syria ⁠as ​the country ‌seeks to rebuild after the collapse of the Assad regime a year ago, it said it was taking action against those who were trying to undermine peace ⁠in the Middle Eastern country.

The government ‌measures announced on ‍Friday are ‍targeted at individuals involved in coastal ‍violence in Syria in March, as well as historic violence committed during the country's civil war, the statement ​said.

"Accountability and justice for all Syrians is vital to ensure ⁠a successful and sustainable political settlement in Syria," foreign minister Yvette Cooper said.

The sanctions, a combination of asset freezes and travel bans, targeted four individuals and three organisations, while two individuals who gave financial backing to the Assad regime are also being sanctioned.

World

Ukraine Hits Russian 'Shadow Fleet' Tanker in Mediterranean

Crude oil tanker transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File Photo
Crude oil tanker transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File Photo
TT
TT

Ukraine Hits Russian 'Shadow Fleet' Tanker in Mediterranean

Crude oil tanker transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File Photo
Crude oil tanker transits the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Türkiye, October 27, 2025. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik/File Photo

Ukraine struck a Russian "shadow fleet" oil tanker in the Mediterranean Sea with ​aerial drones for the first time, an official said on Friday, reflecting the growing intensity of Kyiv's attacks on Russian oil shipping.

The vessel was empty when it was struck by drones in neutral waters more than 2,000 kilometres (1,243 miles) from Ukraine, sustaining critical damage, the official at the SBU security service said in a written statement, Reuters reported.

The tanker's last visible position on Friday morning was given as off the coast of Crete sailing parallel to Libya's coast, MarineTraffic ship tracking data showed. The Ukrainian official, who declined to ‌be named, did ‌not say exactly where the tanker was located at the ‌time ⁠of ​the ‌attack and when it happened.

Ukraine has been attacking Russian oil refineries throughout 2025, but has visibly widened its campaign in recent weeks, striking oil rigs in the Caspian Sea and claiming credit for sea-drone attacks on three tankers in the Black Sea.

The tankers are unregulated ships that Kyiv says are helping Moscow export large quantities of oil and fund its war in Ukraine despite Western sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir ⁠Putin, who ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has threatened to sever Ukraine's access to the ‌Black Sea in response to the attacks on tankers, which ‍he has derided as piracy.

There was ‍no fresh comment from Moscow on the latest attack.

The vessel was en route ‍to the Russian port of Ust Luga in the Baltic Sea from the Indian port of Sikka, MarineTraffic data showed.

India is a major consumer of Russian oil, although it has faced pressure from US President Donald Trump to curb its purchases to reduce the oil revenue that Ukraine says ​is fuelling Russia's full-scale war.

MULTI-STAGE MEASURES

The strike on the vessel is notable not only because it was further away in the Mediterranean but also because ⁠it used long-range aerial drones.

"This development reflects a stark expansion of Ukraine’s use of uncrewed aerial systems against maritime assets associated with Russia’s sanctioned oil export network," British maritime risk-management group Vanguard said.

The Ukrainian official did not say how the drones reached the ship, but said the operation involved "multi-stage" measures.

Earlier this year, the SBU, the vast security agency behind the attack, smuggled dozens of drones into Russia for an operation to destroy strategic bombers at air bases deep inside Russia.

There have also been a string of other unexplained blasts on tankers that have called at Russian ports since December 2024. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in them, but maritime security sources suspect Kyiv is behind them.

Earlier this week, two crew members of ‌the Valeriy Gorchakov Russian-flagged tanker were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the southern Russian port of Rostov-on-Don.