Court docket in Fiji approves U.S. warrant to seize 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 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 US, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

However an attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it isn't owned by Kerimov. Instead, he argued in courtroom that company paperwork traces the ship's ownership 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 appeal Tuesday's determination.

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

The Department of Justice could not immediately be reached for remark. 

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.

Laws handed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to promote the yacht and other properties price greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with a purpose to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has yet to cross the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxurious properties and different ill-begotten features," Biden mentioned on April 28 on the White Home.

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