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

Fiji's High Courtroom on Tuesday ruled that a large Russian-owned yacht may be seized by U.S. authorities.

American and Fijian officials 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, said it is not owned by Kerimov. Instead, he argued in courtroom that company paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former government 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 enchantment Tuesday's decision.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in line with native stories and the maritime analytics web site Marine Visitors. Quickly after, a federal decide approved a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's top prosecutor moved to forestall the ship from leaving.

The Division 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 proprietor of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Laws passed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to sell the yacht and other properties price greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with the intention to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has but to pass the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxury homes and different ill-begotten beneficial properties," Biden stated on April 28 on the White Home.

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