Italy’s tax police have seized belongings price over €141 million from an architect who designed a luxurious property on the Black Sea which has been dubbed “Putin’s palace” by opponents of the Russian president.

The tax police despatched a press release earlier on Wednesday saying it had seized the belongings from a “well-known skilled” in Brescia, a city in northern Italy, citing alleged tax offences.

Two sources informed Reuters the belongings belonged to Lanfranco Cirillo, who designed a grand property on the Black Sea in Russia that turned often called “Putin’s palace” because of claims by a businessman that the property was constructed for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A lawyer for Cirillo confirmed that his shopper’s belongings had been seized however stated he was not responsible of any wrongdoing relating to Italian taxes, including he had based mostly himself in Russia for a few years and been granted Russian citizenship in 2014.

“The architect, who’s in Moscow, may be very disenchanted by the truth that having purchased some prestigious properties and artworks in Italy, and having supplied for his spouse and daughter are used to argue that he faked his transfer overseas,” lawyer Stefano Lojacono stated in a press release.

A helicopter, luxurious properties, money, jewels and essential artworks had been among the many gadgets seized, in keeping with the tax police in Brescia.

President Putin has denied any hyperlink to the posh property on the Black Sea. The difficulty surfaced once more early in 2021 when jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny made a web-based video claiming that Putin was its final proprietor.

In an interview with Italian televison in April, Cirillo stated he had designed the constructing however that it was commissioned by a non-public group and he had had no dealings with Putin.

“It’s insanity to assume that the president of such an essential nation would want to construct a palace for himself,” Cirillo stated within the interview on Italy’s La7.