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

Fiji's Excessive Courtroom on Tuesday dominated that a large Russian-owned yacht will 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. 

However an lawyer who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it isn't owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court 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 couldn't be reached for comment. The corporate intends to enchantment Tuesday's determination.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, based on local stories and the maritime analytics website Marine Visitors. Quickly after, a federal choose authorized a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's prime prosecutor moved to forestall the ship from leaving.

The Department of Justice could not instantly be reached for remark. 

On April 4, the agency introduced 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.

Laws passed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties worth more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs so as to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden helps the invoice, which has but to move the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxurious properties and different ill-begotten beneficial properties," Biden mentioned on April 28 on the White Home.

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