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

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday ruled that a huge Russian-owned yacht can 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 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 lawyer who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, said it's not owned by Kerimov. Instead, he argued in court docket that corporate paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company 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 keeping with native studies and the maritime analytics website Marine Site visitors. Soon after, a federal decide permitted a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's prime prosecutor moved to stop the ship from leaving.

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

On April 4, the company introduced 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.

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

"We'll seize their yachts, their luxurious properties and other ill-begotten gains," Biden said on April 28 at the White House.

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