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

Fiji's Excessive Courtroom on Tuesday dominated that a massive Russian-owned yacht will 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 constructed 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 attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, mentioned it's not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, 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 company who has not been sanctioned. 

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

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in accordance with local stories and the maritime analytics web site Marine Visitors. Soon after, a federal choose accredited a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to stop the ship from leaving.

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

On April 4, the agency announced 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 handed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties worth more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs to be able to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden helps the invoice, which has yet to pass the Senate.

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

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