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

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday ruled that a massive Russian-owned yacht might 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 america, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

But an legal professional who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, mentioned it isn't owned by Kerimov. Instead, he argued in courtroom 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 comment. The corporate intends to appeal Tuesday's resolution.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in keeping with local reviews and the maritime analytics website Marine Traffic. Quickly after, a federal choose accepted a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's prime prosecutor moved to forestall the ship from leaving.

The Division of Justice couldn't instantly be reached for remark. 

On April 4, the company introduced 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 handed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties price more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs to be able to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden helps the invoice, which has but to cross the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxurious houses and other ill-begotten positive aspects," Biden said on April 28 on the White House.

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter protecting legal justice, privacy issues and information safety for CBS Information Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com