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

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday ruled that a large Russian-owned yacht may 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 United States, 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 a substitute, he argued in court that company paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive 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 attraction Tuesday's choice.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in line with native stories and the maritime analytics web site Marine Traffic. Soon after, a federal decide accredited 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 instantly be reached for comment. 

On April 4, the company announced 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.

Laws handed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to promote the yacht and other properties worth greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs in an effort to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has yet to go the Senate.

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

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