Italian authorities have seized a 33-metre-long yacht worth more than EUR 3.3 million owned by Russian oligarchs.

The seizure is the latest chapter in a European blitz on luxury sea vessels belonging to mega-rich Russians.

The Imperia Customs Office and the Imperia Port Authority seized the ‘New Vogue’ motor yacht moored at Porto Maurizio on Friday night (1st April).

Porto Maurizio is a historical district of the municipality of Imperia, located in the province of the same name, in the north-western Italian region of Liguria.

The seizure was ordered by the Imperia Public Prosecutor’s Office, following an investigation by the judicial police, which began in early March.

Over the course of the investigation, Customs Office and Port Authority officials arranged discreet surveillance of the vessel to ensure it did not leave the port.

The yacht is reportedly traceable to Russian oligarchs, though no names were given in local media reports.

The vessel is 32.97 metres (108 feet) long, was built in Turkey, and has been at sea since 2007.

The most expensive yacht with links to Russian oligarchs confirmed to have been seized after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February, is the ‘Sy A’ (Sailing Yacht A), which was seized in the port of Trieste, located in Italy’s north-easternmost region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, on Friday, 11th March.

It was identified by Italian police as belonging to billionaire businessman Andrey Melnichenko, who made his fortune as a fertiliser producer, in addition to running the coal company SUEK.

The 50-year-old Russian’s yacht is worth a whopping EUR 530 million (GBP 445 million).