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

Fiji's High Court on Tuesday dominated 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 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 corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it is not owned by Kerimov. Instead, he argued in court that company paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former government at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov couldn't be reached for remark. The company intends to appeal Tuesday's resolution.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in response to local experiences and the maritime analytics website Marine Site visitors. Quickly after, a federal judge accepted a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's prime prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

The Division of Justice could not immediately 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 permit the U.S. to sell the yacht and other properties price more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs to be able to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden helps the invoice, which has but to pass the Senate.

"We'll seize their yachts, their luxurious houses and different ill-begotten good points," Biden mentioned on April 28 on the White Home.

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