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 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 constructed 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. 

However an lawyer who represents Millemarin Investments, the company 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 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 comment. The company intends to attraction Tuesday's determination.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in keeping with local reviews and the maritime analytics web site Marine Site visitors. Soon after, a federal decide accredited a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's prime prosecutor moved to forestall the ship from leaving.

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

On April 4, the company announced that Spanish authorities had assisted it in seizing one other Russian yacht, the $90 million Tango, which was owned by Viktor Vekselberg, the proprietor of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Laws handed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would permit the U.S. to promote the yacht and other properties price greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with a purpose to fund the Ukrainian battle effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has yet to move the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxury homes and other ill-begotten features," Biden mentioned on April 28 at the White Home.

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