ARCHIV - 01.07.2020, Berlin: Gerhard Schröder, ehemaliger Bundeskanzler, wartet auf den Beginn der Anhörung im Wirtschaftsausschuss des Bundestags zum Pipeline-Projekt Nord Stream 2 im Sitzungssaal. (zu dpa "Gaskrise: Altkanzler Schröder für Inbetriebnahme von Nord Stream 2") Foto: Kay Nietfeld/dpa +++ dpa-Bildfunk +++

The Italian financial police have seized assets of a businessman worth more than 141 million euros, reports the Reuters news agency. The man is an architect with ties to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, according to an anonymous source.

According to the source, the confiscated assets are said to be Lanfranco Cirillo’s assets. The man planned his property on the Black Sea, for example. The Italian financial police do not want to confirm the information and only speak of a “well-known businessman” whose assets were confiscated in the northern Italian city of Brescia for tax offenses.

A request from the news agency to Cirillo’s lawyer has so far been unsuccessful. However, earlier this year the man admitted to designing the property in an Italian TV interview. “Putin’s Palace” became known worldwide after the imprisoned opposition figure Alexei Navalny made research on it public. Putin has denied any connection to the property in the past. (tsp)