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

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday dominated that a massive Russian-owned yacht can 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 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, stated it isn't owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court that company paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil firm who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov could not be reached for comment. The company intends to attraction Tuesday's decision.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in accordance with native stories and the maritime analytics web site Marine Site 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 prevent the ship from leaving.

The Department of Justice couldn't 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 proprietor 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 other properties price more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs as a way to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has but to pass the Senate.

"We'll seize their yachts, their luxurious homes and different ill-begotten beneficial properties," Biden said on April 28 at the White House.

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