Flavio Briatore sues accountant and judges for damages: "Force Blue sold out."
After his final acquittal in the tax fraud trial, the Piedmontese entrepreneur wants compensation of 12,6 million euros, the difference between the price at which his yacht was sold and its real value.
After securing a final acquittal in the tax fraud trial, Flavio Briatore is counterattacking, suing the Genoese accountant who was the judicial administrator at the time, and the judges before the Turin Court for damages. This time, he is back in court, seeking €12.66 million in damages following the sale (according to the entrepreneur, at an excessively low price) of his megayacht, the Force Blue, which is one of the top 100 yachts in the world in terms of size.
It's now been 15 years since the yacht was seized. The Genoa Court of Appeal decided to sell it and entrusted the process to a Genoese accountant acting as judicial administrator. In 2021, he formalized the sale of the yacht to Bernie Ecclestone, the former Formula One magnate. The price? Just under six million euros. According to Briatore, it was a sell-off, so much so that the entrepreneur is now seeking compensation of 12.66 million euros, which, according to Briatore, is the difference between the price the Force Blue was sold for and its actual value.
Force Blue, built in 2002 by Royal Denship and refitted in 2022, is 70,56 meters long, has a beam of 11,38 meters, and a gross tonnage of 1.325 GT. The exterior is by H2 Yacht Design, while the interior design is by Michele Bonan. It can accommodate up to 12 guests in six cabins and 21 crew members. It is powered by two 1.850 hp Caterpillar engines, allowing it to reach a top speed of 16 knots and a cruising speed of 12,5 knots.
Owned by Autumn Sailing, which is controlled by Briatore, in 2010 it was at the center of a tax fraud investigation. This led to the Court of Cassation's initial intervention in 2018, which partially overturned the conviction on appeal, requesting a new trial, which ultimately resulted in an acquittal due to the statute of limitations. Briatore was finally acquitted of tax evasion charges, but no reimbursement was provided for the yacht Force Blue, which had been confiscated and sold by the court-appointed administrator.
Hence the summons of the accountant and the judges. Briatore has requested that the Prime Minister's Office, jointly and severally with the judicial administrator, compensate him in the amount of €12,660,000. The 1988 law implicates the Prime Minister's office. If compensation is granted, the Prime Minister's Office will then be able to seek recourse against the magistrates of the Genoa Court of Appeal through the Court of Auditors.
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