Ursula Andress may have her fortune returned to her after Italian police seized €20million in assets which had been 'embezzled' from the devastated actress.
The first Bond Girl, 90, famous for her role in Dr. No, filed a criminal complaint against her late former asset manager, Eric Freymond, in January.
Eric is alleged to have lost around €18,600 ($21million) of Ursula's fortune, with her total net worth estimated at €20,825 ($24million).
The assets are believed to be the proceeds of money laundering and self-laundering crimes committed against Ursula, the Guardia di Finanza police said in a statement on Thursday.
They include a luxury country estate in San Casciano in Val di Pesa, on the outskirts of Florence, with vineyards and olive groves.
The retrieved fortune also includes art pieces and other financial assets, police added.
Ursula had filed a criminal complaint in Switzerland, claiming she had been a victim of fraud by people who managed her finances through a series of 'highly opaque' transactions, the Guardia di Finanza said.
The investigations in Italy and Switzerland identified 'significant connections' between some of these transactions and Italy, particularly the Florence area, prompting Italian authorities to intervene, the statement added.
Ursula Andress may have her fortune returned to her after Italian police seized €20million in assets which had been 'embezzled' from the devastated actress.
The first Bond Girl, 90, famous for her role in Dr. No, filed a criminal complaint against her late former asset manager, Eric Freymond, in January.
Ursula, whose career peaked in the 1960s with roles alongside Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Marcello Mastroianni, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Peter Sellers, turned 90 last week.
Yet despite her movie star success, as Ursula marks her 90th birthday on Thursday, her life couldn't look more turbulent.
Instead of living out the life of luxury you might expect in her home in Rome, Ursula's life was thrust into turmoil after she filed the criminal complaint.
Speaking to Swiss German publication Blick, the star confessed she was 'devastated' after she feels she was deliberately targeted by the asset manager.
'For eight years, I was courted and wooed. They lied to me ruthlessly and exploited my goodwill and trust in a perfidious, even criminal, way to take everything from me. And they were counting on my age. I’m so devastated,' she explained.
She said she could no longer sleep and was suffering with anxiety, adding: ‘This feeling of helplessness is unbearable - it’s killing me.’
Eric is alleged to have gambled or lost €18.6million through a series of questionable transactions unknown to Ursula.
He is alleged to have made a series of art purchases on her behalf, without her consent, but none of the works have been shown or handed over to her.
Eric was previously suspected of embezzling the fortune of Hermes heir Nicolas Puech and during an interrogation in Paris last July, he confessed to some of the charges.
Two weeks later, he took his own life and the artworks he allegedly bought with Ursula’s fortune have been revealed to be in Eric’s wife Caroline’s name, with the aim of the transactions allegedly to provide him with liquidity.
There has been no suggestion that Caroline is involved in any wrongdoing.
Eric is alleged to have gambled or lost £16million (€18.6million) through a series of questionable transactions unknown to Ursula. He took his own life last July.
Some of Ursula's fortune is also said to be invested in stocks.
In January, it was reported that Ursula had filed a criminal complaint, which included charges of embezzlement.
A statement from her management to Blick read: 'As part of a fraud scheme of exceptional scale and complexity, involving numerous actors and structures, she was deprived of a large portion of her assets, resulting in significant damage.
'Out of consideration for the ongoing proceedings, Ms Andress does not wish to make any further comments at this time. The Vaud cantonal judicial authorities have been tasked with fully investigating the manipulations and clarifying criminal and civil liability.'
The star herself also stressed that this was the last thing she would have expected to happen to her after she prided herself on saving money for a 'happy and peaceful retirement'.
She added: 'I've been disgustingly cheated! I hope the perpetrators are punished to the full extent of the law.'
The Daily Mail has contacted Ursula's representatives for comment.
She told German newspaper BILD: 'It's a huge shock and a painful disappointment for me.'
'This has been in the works for many years; they gained my trust through deception.'
Ursula went down in history as the first Bond Girl after she walked out of the ocean wearing nothing but a white bikini and a dagger on her hips as Honey Ryder in the 1962 James Bond film Dr No.
Just 26 at the time, the Swiss actress went on to win the Golden Globe for New Star of the Year for the role where she starred alongside the late Eunice Gayson.
She later starred as Vesper Lynd in the 1967 Bond parody Casino Royale.
Ursula also posed nude for Playboy in 1965 after snaps of her from Nightmare in the Sun were published. She went on to feature in the magazine seven times over the next 15 years.
Ursula was hoping to enjoy her retirement after her colourful career, and even more colourful love life.
After losing her virginity to married actor Daniel Gelin in 1953, when he was 32 and she was 17, she went on to date Dennis Hopper and James Dean before embarking on an affair with actor and director John Derek.
The pair later married in 1957 after he left his wife to be with Ursula, who was then 19.
The couple separated in 1964 and divorced two years later as she went on to date a string of men, including her co-star from She, John Richardson and her co-star from The 10th Victim,Marcello Mastroianni.
However, most notable was her relationship with Harry Hamlin after Ursula seduced him and got pregnant that same night.
The couple had a son, Dimitri, after one night of passion, which led to a three-year relationship from 1980 until their split in 1983, during which time Harry moved to Rome to be with the actress.
The Mad Men actor and the Bond girl met in 1980 while shooting Clash of the Titans together, when Ursula was 44 and Harry was 28.
Speaking about their relationship back in 2020, Harry's now-wife Lisa Rinna explained: 'Ursula is the movie star that you would imagine. He said she called him and said, "Harry, come to my room."'
'And so he did; at 28 years old; he went in; and she got pregnant that night. And that was that; at 44. First time.'
After their split; Ursula told People; 'I want to be with him; but he wants to go out. Love affairs and husbands can end; but a child is forever. Dimitri is my love now.'
Dimitri Alexander Hamlin was born in Los Angeles in 1980 and graduated from Princeton with a degree in Philosophy.
Harry spoke about his relationship with his son in a 2019 interview with the Daily Beast.
'I didn't grow up with my son, Dimitri,' said the actor. His eldest child was largely raised in Rome by his mother.
'Any son who doesn't grow up with his father has issues. You can't grow up without having a dad and not have that affect your life.'
Following her split from Harry, Ursula enjoyed several more romances with an array of men including soccer player Paulo Roberto Falcão; actor Gerardo Amato; and singer Julio Iglesias.
She was last known to be linked to martial arts expert Jeff Speakman in 1991 but has since become more of a recluse and shied away from public life.
Appearing in less and less during the 90s; her last role was playing Madonna in the 2005 Swiss feature Die Vogelpredigt oder Das Schreien der Mönche (The Bird Preacher).
In 2017; she waved goodbye to Hollywood; selling her Beverly Hills home. She now splits her time between her apartment in Rome and Gstaad in Switzerland; near her siblings.