Italy seized a sanctioned Russian oligarch's $670,000 armored Mercedes that can withstand machine-gun and grenade attacks, reports say

• A Mercedes-Maybach owned by Alisher Usmanov was seized in Italy, Corriere della Sera reported.
• The $670,000 vehicle is designed to protect against bullets and explosives, the report said.

Italy has seized a $670,000 luxury bulletproof limousine belonging to a sanctioned Russian oligarch, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera first reported on Tuesday.

Authorities impounded a black Mercedes-Maybach S650 Guard VR10 belonging to the mining and telecoms tycoon Alisher Usmanov within the past few days in Sardinia, an island in the Mediterranean Sea, according to Corriere della Sera's reporting, which was cited in other news outlets.

The Italian tax police confirmed to The Times on Tuesday that the car was among Usmanov's assets on the island that have been seized. L'Unione Sarda, a local Italian newspaper, also reported on Tuesday that authorities had impounded his real-estate complex in the Gulf of Pevero, worth 17 million euros, or about $19 million, and six of his corporate vehicles. His seized assets in Sardinia come to a total of 66 million euros, or about $73 million, according to L'Unione Sarda.

The authorities in Sardinia and representatives for Usmanov did not immediately reply to requests for comment from Insider about the reports of seizures.

The five-tonne Maybach is worth about 600,000 euros, or about $670,000, and fitted with armor plating and 10 centimeter-thick windows designed to withstand explosions and machine-gun attacks, Corriere della Sera reported. Mercedes has said it can weather two grenades exploding at the same time, according to The Times' report.

Mercedes didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment about the vehicle's details.

Usmanov was sanctioned on February 28 by the European Union. An EU Council report said he has "particularly close ties" to Russian President Vladimir Putin and is considered one of his "favorite oligarchs."

A spokesperson for the billionaire, who has also been targeted by UK and US sanctions, told The Guardian last week that he'd transferred some of his assets, including two mansions in the UK, into irrevocable trusts and doesn't own them anymore.

Usmanov is Russia's fifth-richest person, with an estimated net worth of $18.7 billion, according to Bloomberg's Billionaires Index.