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

Fiji's Excessive Courtroom on Tuesday ruled that a huge Russian-owned yacht could be seized by U.S. authorities.

American and Fijian officers 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 the US, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

However an attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, said it is 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 government at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov couldn't be reached for remark. The corporate intends to attraction Tuesday's determination.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in accordance with local stories and the maritime analytics website Marine Visitors. Quickly after, a federal judge approved 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 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 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 struggle effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has but to pass the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxury properties and different ill-begotten gains," Biden said on April 28 at the White House.

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