Courtroom in Fiji approves U.S. warrant to seize Russian-owned mega-yacht

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday ruled that a huge Russian-owned yacht could be seized by U.S. authorities.

American and Fijian officials declare the Cayman Islands-flagged Amadea is the property of Suleiman Kerimov, an oligarch who built his fortune on gold mining. Kerimov was sanctioned in March by the US, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

But an attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it is not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court docket that company paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former govt at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil firm who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov could not be reached for remark. The corporate intends to appeal Tuesday's resolution.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, according to native stories and the maritime analytics web site Marine Site visitors. Quickly after, a federal judge approved a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to stop the ship from leaving.

The Division of Justice could not instantly be reached for comment. 

On April 4, the company introduced that Spanish authorities had assisted it in seizing one other Russian yacht, the $90 million Tango, which was owned by Viktor Vekselberg, the owner of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Laws handed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to promote the yacht and different properties value greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs in an effort to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has but to pass the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxurious houses and different ill-begotten beneficial properties," Biden stated on April 28 on the White House.

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter masking legal justice, privateness issues and information safety for CBS Information Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com