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

Fiji's High Court on Tuesday dominated that a large 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 the US, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

However an legal professional who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it isn't owned by Kerimov. As a substitute, he argued in court 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 remark. The corporate intends to enchantment Tuesday's determination.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, based on native reviews and the maritime analytics website Marine Visitors. Soon after, a federal decide accepted 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 instantly 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.

Laws 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 order to fund the Ukrainian conflict effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has yet to go the Senate.

"We'll seize their yachts, their luxury properties and different ill-begotten positive factors," Biden stated on April 28 at the White House.

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