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

Fiji's High Courtroom on Tuesday ruled that a large Russian-owned yacht might 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 built 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. 

But an lawyer who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, mentioned it isn't owned by Kerimov. As a substitute, 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 choice.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in line with native experiences and the maritime analytics web site Marine Traffic. Quickly after, a federal decide approved 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 immediately be reached for remark. 

On April 4, the company 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 handed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would permit the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties price more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs in order to fund the Ukrainian battle effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has yet to go the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxurious houses and other ill-begotten features," Biden said on April 28 on the White Home.

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