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

Fiji's High Court docket on Tuesday ruled that a huge Russian-owned yacht might 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 US, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

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

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

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in accordance with native experiences and the maritime analytics web site Marine Visitors. Quickly after, a federal judge authorised a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's prime prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

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

On April 4, the agency announced that Spanish authorities had assisted it in seizing another Russian yacht, the $90 million Tango, which was owned by Viktor Vekselberg, the proprietor of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Legislation passed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would permit the U.S. to promote the yacht and other properties value more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with a view to fund the Ukrainian conflict effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has but to move the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxury properties and different ill-begotten gains," Biden stated on April 28 on the White House.

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