Financial police in Italy have confiscated property, artwork and financial holdings valued at 20 million euros (approximately $23 million) in the Florence area, claiming these assets were bought using funds fraudulently taken from Bond actress Ursula Andress, according to a Thursday announcement from Italian authorities.
The asset seizures followed an investigation that began when Andress filed a complaint with Swiss law enforcement, alleging she had been defrauded by her financial advisers.
In January, the 90-year-old actress spoke to Swiss publication Blick about losing 18 million Swiss francs (roughly 20 million euros) to her longtime financial adviser across an eight-year span. The publication reported that the adviser has since passed away.
“I am still in shock,” Andress stated. “I was deliberately chosen as a victim. For eight years, I was courted and wooed. They lied to me shamelessly and exploited my goodwill in a perfidious, indeed criminal, way in order to take everything from me. They took advantage of my age.”
According to Italian investigators, the fraudulent funds were placed into overseas companies, utilized for asset purchases, and moved through various transactions intended to hide their origins.
Authorities tracked the money to the acquisition of 11 properties, 14 parcels of land used for vineyards and olive cultivation, plus artwork and financial holdings throughout Florence and surrounding Tuscan regions.
Officials have not disclosed whether any individuals have been taken into custody.
Born in Switzerland, Andress gained fame as the original Bond girl Honey Ryder in 1962’s “Dr. No,” particularly remembered for her iconic scene walking out of the ocean wearing a white bikini. Her career continued with roles alongside Elvis Presley in “Fun in Acapulco” and with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in “Four for Texas.” She later focused on European film and television projects before stepping away from acting in the early 2000s.
