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

Fiji's High Courtroom on Tuesday ruled that a massive Russian-owned yacht will be seized by U.S. authorities.

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

However an lawyer who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it's not owned by Kerimov. As a substitute, he argued in court docket that corporate 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 company intends to enchantment Tuesday's resolution.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, based on local experiences and the maritime analytics web site Marine Site visitors. Soon after, a federal choose permitted a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's prime prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

The Department of Justice could not immediately 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 passed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to promote the yacht and other properties value greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with the intention to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has yet to cross the Senate.

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

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