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

Fiji's High Court docket on Tuesday dominated that a huge Russian-owned yacht will 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 the USA, 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 isn't owned by Kerimov. Instead, he argued in court docket that corporate paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former government at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov could not be reached for remark. The corporate intends to enchantment Tuesday's decision.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in accordance with local reviews and the maritime analytics web site Marine Site visitors. Soon after, a federal decide accepted a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's prime prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

The Department of Justice could not immediately 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.

Legislation passed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties worth greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with a view to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has but to pass the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxury homes and different ill-begotten good points," Biden stated on April 28 on the White House.

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