Tax police sent a statement on Wednesday saying they had seized assets from a “well-known professional” in the northern Italian city of Brescia, citing alleged tax violations.
Italy’s tax police seized assets of value over 141 million euros by an architect who designed a luxury complex on the Black Sea, dubbed “Putin’s palace” by opponents of the Russian president.
Tax police sent a statement on Wednesday saying they had seized assets from a “well-known professional” in the northern Italian city of Brescia, citing alleged tax violations.
Two sources told Reuters the assets belonged to Lanfranco Cirillo, who designed a large complex on the Black Sea in Russia that became known as “Putin’s palace” due to claims by a businessman that the property was built for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A lawyer for Cirillo confirmed that his client’s assets had been seized, but said he was not guilty of any wrongdoing in Italian taxes, adding that he had been based in Russia for many years and had been granted Russian citizenship in 2014.
“The architect, who is based in Moscow, is very disappointed that having bought some prestigious properties and works of art in Italy and taking care of his wife and daughter are being used to argue that he faked his move abroad” , lawyer Stefano Lozzacomo said in his statement.
A helicopter, luxury real estate, cash, jewelry and important works of art were among the items seized, according to Brescia’s tax police.
THE president Putin ehas denied any connection to the luxury property on the Black Sea. The issue resurfaced in early 2021, when jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny made an online video in which he claimed Putin was its ultimate owner.
In an interview on Italian television in April, Cirillo said he had designed the building but that it was commissioned by a private group and had nothing to do with Putin.
“It is crazy to think that the president of such an important country would need to build a palace for himself,” Cirillo said in the interview with Italy’s La7.
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