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

Fiji's High Court docket on Tuesday dominated that a massive 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 United States, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

However an legal professional who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, mentioned it isn't 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 firm who has not been sanctioned. 

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

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

The Department of Justice couldn't instantly be reached for comment. 

On April 4, the company announced 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 House of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties price more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs so as to fund the Ukrainian battle effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has but to move the Senate.

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

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter overlaying criminal justice, privacy issues and data safety for CBS Information Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com