In 2022, Italy took control of Yacht A, the futuristic $600 million megayacht, after its rumored owner, billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, was hit with EU sanctions over his ties to the Russian government.
According to a report from LuxuryLaunches, Italy has already spent an estimated $46 million maintaining one of the world's most extreme luxury vessels. Now, it may have to return it.
Designed by Philippe Starck and built by Nobiskrug, the massive vessel was in Trieste, Italy, for maintenance when European Union sanctions were imposed on Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Italian authorities moved quickly. The Guardia di Finanza boarded the yacht within days and froze it, and it has remained under state control ever since, even as upkeep reportedly costs about $35,000 per day, LuxuryLaunches reported.
According to Il Gazzettino, cited by LuxuryLaunches, the legal battle has now taken another turn. The Court of Justice of the European Union said freezing trust-held assets can comply with EU law, but only after a specific assessment of whether the listed person still had "effective control" over the asset. The next phase of the case now moves to the Lazio Regional Administrative Court.
LuxuryLaunches noted that the courts will decide whether Andrey Melnichenko and, later, his wife Aleksandra, still retained control over the asset.
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If the courts ultimately decide the freeze was applied incorrectly, Italy may have to hand the yacht back and might never recover the tens of millions already spent on its upkeep.
According to LuxuryLaunches, Italy does not want the freeze lifted despite the monumental maintenance bill. If the courts decide the trust was truly independent, the yacht could be returned, leaving taxpayers with a staggering tab for keeping a megayacht ready for the sea.
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