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

Fiji's High Court on Tuesday ruled that a huge 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 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. 

But an attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, said it's not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in courtroom that corporate paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former govt 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 enchantment Tuesday's determination.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in line with native reports and the maritime analytics website Marine Traffic. Quickly after, a federal choose accredited a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to forestall the ship from leaving.

The Department of Justice couldn't immediately be reached for remark. 

On April 4, the agency introduced 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.

Legislation handed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to promote the yacht and different properties worth greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with the intention to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has but to cross the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxury houses and other ill-begotten beneficial properties," Biden stated on April 28 on the White Home.

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