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

Fiji's High Courtroom on Tuesday dominated that a large Russian-owned yacht might 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 built his fortune on gold mining. Kerimov was sanctioned in March by the USA, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

But an lawyer who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, said it's not owned by Kerimov. Instead, he argued in court that corporate paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov could not be reached for remark. The corporate intends to enchantment Tuesday's choice.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in line with native studies and the maritime analytics website Marine Visitors. Soon after, a federal judge permitted a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's prime prosecutor moved to forestall the ship from leaving.

The Department of Justice could not immediately be reached for remark. 

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 enable the U.S. to sell the yacht and other properties worth more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs in an effort to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has but to pass the Senate.

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

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