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

Fiji's High Court docket on Tuesday ruled that a huge Russian-owned yacht may be seized by U.S. authorities.

American and Fijian officials declare the Cayman Islands-flagged Amadea is the property of Suleiman Kerimov, an oligarch who built 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, mentioned it is not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, 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 firm who has not been sanctioned. 

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

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

The Division of Justice could not 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 House of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to promote the yacht and different properties worth greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs to be able to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden helps the invoice, which has but to move the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxury houses and other ill-begotten positive factors," Biden mentioned on April 28 on the White Home.

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