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

Fiji's High Courtroom on Tuesday ruled that a huge Russian-owned yacht could 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 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 lawyer who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, said it isn't owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court that company paperwork traces the ship's ownership 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 company intends to appeal Tuesday's resolution.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in keeping with native reviews and the maritime analytics web site Marine Site visitors. Quickly after, a federal choose approved a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

The Division of Justice could not immediately be reached for comment. 

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.

Laws handed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to promote the yacht and different properties worth more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs to be able to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has yet to cross the Senate.

"We'll seize their yachts, their luxury homes and other ill-begotten features," Biden mentioned on April 28 at the White House.

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