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

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

American and Fijian officials 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 lawyer who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it isn't owned by Kerimov. As a substitute, he argued in courtroom that company paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former govt at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov couldn't be reached for remark. The corporate intends to attraction Tuesday's choice.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, based on native studies 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 immediately be reached for remark. 

On April 4, the company 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 passed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to sell the yacht and other properties worth greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs so as to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has yet to move the Senate.

"We'll seize their yachts, their luxury houses and different ill-begotten gains," Biden said on April 28 on the White House.

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