Italian Authorities Seize €20m in Assets Linked to Ursula Andress

Italian authorities have made a significant breakthrough in the investigation of financial mismanagement involving the renowned actor Ursula Andress. The 90-year-old Swiss native had filed a complaint in Switzerland alleging a 'progressive and significant depletion of her assets' by individuals responsible for managing her finances.

According to Italy's financial crimes police, prosecutors in the Swiss canton of Vaud constructed a picture of a 'systematic misappropriation of financial resources' worth approximately 18m Swiss francs, carried out through multiple, opaque transactions. The money was traced to Italy, where prosecutors in Florence took up the case and police began following the paper trail.

Following an extensive investigation, the authorities tracked the embezzled funds to a real-estate complex in San Casciano in Val di Pesa, near Florence. The complex consisted of 11 units and 14 plots of land used as vineyards and olive groves, as well as works of art and other assets. The judge for preliminary investigations of the court of Florence ordered the seizure of the entire illicit profit, up to the amount of CHF 18,000,000, to be enforced against the identified assets.

Ursula Andress rose to fame with her iconic scene in the 1962 James Bond movie Dr No, which launched a successful career in film and television spanning over two decades.