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

Fiji's High Courtroom on Tuesday dominated that a large 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 US, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

But an attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it's not owned by Kerimov. As a substitute, 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 comment. The company intends to attraction Tuesday's choice.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in keeping with native studies and the maritime analytics web site Marine Visitors. Quickly after, a federal choose authorised 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 could not immediately be reached for comment. 

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.

Legislation handed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to promote the yacht and different properties worth more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with a purpose to fund the Ukrainian battle effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has yet to pass the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxurious homes and different ill-begotten good points," Biden stated on April 28 at the White Home.

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