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

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

American and Fijian officers 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 america, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

But an legal professional who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, said it is not owned by Kerimov. As a substitute, he argued in court docket that company paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil firm who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov could not be reached for comment. The corporate intends to attraction Tuesday's choice.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in response to native experiences and the maritime analytics web site Marine Traffic. Quickly after, a federal decide authorised a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's top prosecutor moved to stop the ship from leaving.

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

On April 4, the agency 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.

Legislation handed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would permit the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties value greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs as a way to fund the Ukrainian struggle effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has but to cross the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxury houses and different ill-begotten positive aspects," Biden said on April 28 at the White House.

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