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

Fiji's High Courtroom on Tuesday dominated that a huge Russian-owned yacht could be seized by U.S. authorities.

American and Fijian officers 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 america, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

But an legal professional who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, mentioned it is not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in courtroom that corporate 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 couldn't be reached for comment. The corporate intends to attraction Tuesday's determination.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in keeping with local stories and the maritime analytics website Marine Traffic. Quickly after, a federal judge accepted 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 proprietor of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Legislation handed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties worth greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs so as to fund the Ukrainian battle effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has but to move the Senate.

"We'll seize their yachts, their luxury houses and other ill-begotten good points," Biden stated on April 28 on the White Home.

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter protecting felony justice, privateness points and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com