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

Fiji's High Courtroom on Tuesday ruled that a large Russian-owned yacht may 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 america, 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 isn't owned by Kerimov. As a substitute, he argued in court docket that company paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former government 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 enchantment Tuesday's choice.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in line with native experiences and the maritime analytics website Marine Visitors. Soon after, a federal choose authorized 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 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 owner of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Laws passed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to promote the yacht and different properties price more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs to be able to fund the Ukrainian conflict effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has but to go the Senate.

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

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