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

Fiji's High Court on Tuesday dominated that a massive Russian-owned yacht could 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, stated it isn't owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court docket that company paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former govt 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 appeal Tuesday's determination.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in line with native experiences 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 high prosecutor moved to forestall the ship from leaving.

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

On April 4, the company 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 permit the U.S. to promote the yacht and different properties worth more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs so as to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has yet to pass the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxury properties and other ill-begotten good points," Biden said on April 28 at the White Home.

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