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

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday ruled that a huge Russian-owned yacht might 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 built 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 lawyer who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it is not owned by Kerimov. Instead, he argued in courtroom that company paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former government at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

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

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, according to local reports and the maritime analytics web site Marine Visitors. Quickly after, a federal choose approved a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's top prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

The Division of Justice could not instantly be reached for remark. 

On April 4, the company introduced 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 passed by the House 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 in order to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has but to pass the Senate.

"We'll seize their yachts, their luxury houses and other ill-begotten features," Biden stated on April 28 at the White House.

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