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

Fiji's High Court on Tuesday ruled that a massive Russian-owned yacht might 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 USA, 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, mentioned it's not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court docket that corporate paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former govt at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil firm who has not been sanctioned. 

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

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, according to local stories and the maritime analytics website Marine Visitors. Soon after, a federal judge accepted a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

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

On April 4, the company announced that Spanish authorities had assisted it in seizing one other 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 allow the U.S. to sell the yacht and other properties price greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs so as to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has but to go the Senate.

"We'll seize their yachts, their luxury properties and other ill-begotten features," Biden mentioned on April 28 on the White Home.

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter protecting felony justice, privateness points and data security for CBS Information Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com