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

Fiji's High Court on Tuesday dominated that a massive Russian-owned yacht will 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 United States, 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, mentioned it's not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court docket that corporate paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former govt at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil firm who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov could not be reached for remark. The company intends to enchantment Tuesday's determination.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in accordance with native stories and the maritime analytics web site Marine Site visitors. Quickly after, a federal choose 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 Division of Justice couldn't instantly be reached for comment. 

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 handed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would permit the U.S. to promote the yacht and different properties price more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs to be able to fund the Ukrainian conflict effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has yet to pass the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxurious homes and different ill-begotten features," Biden stated on April 28 on the White House.

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