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

Fiji's High Court docket on Tuesday dominated that a huge Russian-owned yacht might 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. 

However an lawyer who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, mentioned it is not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court docket that corporate 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 couldn't be reached for comment. The company intends to appeal Tuesday's decision.

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

The Department of Justice could not instantly 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 owner of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Laws passed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would permit the U.S. to sell the yacht and other properties value more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with a view to fund the Ukrainian struggle effort. President Joe Biden helps the invoice, which has yet to cross the Senate.

"We'll seize their yachts, their luxurious homes and other ill-begotten gains," Biden stated on April 28 at the White Home.

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