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

Fiji's Excessive Courtroom on Tuesday ruled that a large 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 america, 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's not owned by Kerimov. Instead, he argued in court docket that corporate paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov couldn't be reached for comment. The company intends to appeal Tuesday's determination.

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

The Division of Justice could not immediately be reached for comment. 

On April 4, the agency 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 House of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to sell the yacht and other properties value greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs so as to fund the Ukrainian struggle effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has yet to go the Senate.

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

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter protecting felony justice, privacy points and knowledge safety for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com