Court in Fiji approves U.S. warrant to grab Russian-owned mega-yacht

Fiji's High Courtroom on Tuesday ruled that a massive Russian-owned yacht could be seized by U.S. authorities.

American and Fijian officers claim the Cayman Islands-flagged Amadea is the property of Suleiman Kerimov, an oligarch who constructed his fortune on gold mining. Kerimov was sanctioned in March by the United States, 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 a substitute, he argued in court docket that corporate 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 attraction Tuesday's decision.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in accordance with local reports and the maritime analytics website Marine Site visitors. Soon after, a federal decide accredited a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's prime 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 proprietor of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Laws passed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would permit the U.S. to promote the yacht and other properties price more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with a purpose to fund the Ukrainian battle effort. President Joe Biden helps the invoice, which has but to go the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxury homes and different ill-begotten positive aspects," Biden said on April 28 at the White House.

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privateness issues and data security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com