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

Fiji's High Court docket on Tuesday ruled that a huge 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 attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it isn't owned by Kerimov. Instead, he argued in court that company paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov could not be reached for comment. The corporate intends to appeal Tuesday's determination.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in response to native studies and the maritime analytics website Marine Visitors. Soon after, a federal judge approved a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

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

On April 4, the agency introduced 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.

Laws passed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to sell the yacht and other properties worth more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs in order to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has but to pass the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxurious properties and other ill-begotten beneficial properties," Biden stated on April 28 at the White House.

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