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

Fiji's High Courtroom 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 US, 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 is not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court that corporate paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov couldn't be reached for comment. The corporate intends to enchantment Tuesday's choice.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, according to native reports and the maritime analytics web site Marine Traffic. Quickly after, a federal choose permitted a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to stop the ship from leaving.

The Division of Justice could not instantly 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 Home 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 as a way to fund the Ukrainian struggle effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has yet to cross the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxurious homes and different ill-begotten positive factors," Biden said on April 28 at the White House.

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