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

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday dominated that a massive Russian-owned yacht could be seized by U.S. authorities.

American and Fijian officials declare 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 USA, 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 court that company paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former govt at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov couldn't be reached for remark. The corporate intends to enchantment Tuesday's decision.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in response to local studies and the maritime analytics web site Marine Site visitors. Quickly after, a federal decide accredited a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to stop the ship from leaving.

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

Laws handed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would permit the U.S. to promote the yacht and other properties worth more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with a purpose to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has but to move the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxurious properties and other ill-begotten gains," Biden said on April 28 at the White House.

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