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

Fiji's Excessive Court docket on Tuesday dominated that a massive Russian-owned yacht will 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 attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it is not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, 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 firm who has not been sanctioned. 

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

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in keeping with native stories and the maritime analytics website Marine Visitors. Soon after, a federal decide authorized 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 couldn't 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 proprietor of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Legislation passed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to sell the yacht and other properties value more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs in an effort to fund the Ukrainian struggle effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has yet to move the Senate.

"We'll seize their yachts, their luxury properties and other ill-begotten gains," Biden said on April 28 on the White Home.

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