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

Fiji's Excessive Court docket on Tuesday dominated that a massive Russian-owned yacht might be seized by U.S. authorities.

American and Fijian officers 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 United States, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

However an attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, said it isn't owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court that company 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 company intends to enchantment Tuesday's decision.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, based on local experiences and the maritime analytics web site Marine Visitors. Quickly after, a federal decide permitted a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's top prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

The Division of Justice couldn't immediately be reached for remark. 

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 owner of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

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

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxurious homes and other ill-begotten features," Biden said on April 28 on the White House.

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