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

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday ruled that a massive Russian-owned yacht might 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 United States, 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, said it isn't owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court that corporate 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 remark. The company intends to attraction Tuesday's resolution.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, according to local experiences and the maritime analytics web site Marine Site visitors. Soon after, a federal decide accredited a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's prime prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

The Department of Justice could not instantly be reached for remark. 

On April 4, the company announced that Spanish authorities had assisted it in seizing one other Russian yacht, the $90 million Tango, which was owned by Viktor Vekselberg, the proprietor of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Legislation handed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to promote the yacht and different properties value greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs in an effort to fund the Ukrainian struggle effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has but to cross the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxurious properties and different ill-begotten beneficial properties," Biden said on April 28 at the White House.

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