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

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday ruled that a large Russian-owned yacht can be seized by U.S. authorities.

American and Fijian officials declare 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 United States, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

However an lawyer who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, mentioned it isn't owned by Kerimov. Instead, he argued in court that company paperwork traces the ship's possession 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 comment. The corporate intends to appeal Tuesday's decision.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, based on native experiences and the maritime analytics website Marine Traffic. Quickly after, a federal choose authorized 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 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 Home of Representatives on April 27 would permit the U.S. to sell the yacht and other properties value more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with the intention to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has but to cross the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxury homes and different ill-begotten positive factors," Biden stated on April 28 on the White Home.

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