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

Fiji's High Court on Tuesday ruled that a large Russian-owned yacht will 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 constructed his fortune on gold mining. Kerimov was sanctioned in March by america, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

However an attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, mentioned it is not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court that corporate 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 could not be reached for remark. The corporate intends to appeal Tuesday's resolution.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in line with local studies and the maritime analytics website Marine Visitors. Quickly after, a federal judge authorised 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 couldn't immediately be reached for remark. 

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.

Laws handed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would permit the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties value more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with a purpose to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has yet to move the Senate.

"We'll seize their yachts, their luxury homes and different ill-begotten gains," Biden mentioned on April 28 at the White Home.

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