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

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday dominated that a huge Russian-owned yacht may 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 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, said it isn't owned by Kerimov. Instead, 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 company who has not been sanctioned. 

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

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in line with native stories and the maritime analytics web site Marine Site visitors. Soon after, a federal choose accepted a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

The Division of Justice couldn't immediately be reached for comment. 

On April 4, the company 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 permit the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties value more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs in order to fund the Ukrainian conflict effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has but to move the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxury homes and other ill-begotten beneficial properties," Biden mentioned on April 28 on the White House.

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