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

Fiji's Excessive Court docket on Tuesday dominated 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 USA, 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, stated it isn't owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court docket that corporate paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive 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 appeal Tuesday's determination.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in accordance with native reports and the maritime analytics website Marine Traffic. Soon after, a federal judge authorized a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high 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 one other 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 allow the U.S. to promote the yacht and different properties price greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs as a way to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden helps the invoice, which has but to cross the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxurious properties and other ill-begotten positive factors," Biden mentioned on April 28 on the White Home.

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