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

Fiji's High Court on Tuesday ruled that a large 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 constructed his fortune on gold mining. Kerimov was sanctioned in March by the USA, 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, said it isn't owned by Kerimov. As a substitute, 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 firm who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov could not be reached for remark. The company intends to enchantment Tuesday's decision.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in keeping with native experiences and the maritime analytics website Marine Site visitors. Quickly after, a federal judge authorised a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to forestall the ship from leaving.

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

On April 4, the company introduced that Spanish authorities had assisted it in seizing another Russian yacht, the $90 million Tango, which was owned by Viktor Vekselberg, the proprietor of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Laws passed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties value greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs to be able to fund the Ukrainian struggle effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has yet to move the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxury homes and different ill-begotten beneficial properties," Biden said on April 28 at the White Home.

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