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

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday ruled that a large Russian-owned yacht may 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 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 legal professional who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, said it isn't owned by Kerimov. As a substitute, he argued in court that company paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former govt at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil firm who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov couldn't be reached for comment. The company intends to enchantment Tuesday's choice.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in accordance with local experiences and the maritime analytics web site Marine Site visitors. Quickly after, a federal choose authorized a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's top prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

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

On April 4, the agency announced 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.

Legislation passed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties price more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with a view to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has but to cross the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxury houses and different ill-begotten beneficial properties," Biden mentioned on April 28 at the White Home.

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter masking felony justice, privacy points and knowledge safety for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com