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

Fiji's High Court on Tuesday dominated that a large Russian-owned yacht can 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 constructed 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. 

However an legal professional who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it is not owned by Kerimov. Instead, 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 firm who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov could not be reached for remark. The corporate intends to attraction Tuesday's resolution.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in keeping with local reviews and the maritime analytics web site Marine Traffic. Quickly after, a federal decide authorized 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 comment. 

On April 4, the agency 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 Home of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to sell the yacht and other properties worth greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs in order to fund the Ukrainian conflict effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has yet to move the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxury homes and other ill-begotten positive aspects," Biden said on April 28 on the White House.

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