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

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday dominated that a massive Russian-owned yacht will 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. 

But an attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, mentioned it isn't owned by Kerimov. Instead, he argued in court docket that company paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former government at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov could not be reached for remark. The corporate intends to appeal Tuesday's choice.

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

The Department of Justice could not instantly be reached for comment. 

On April 4, the agency 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 permit the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties price greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs so as to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has yet to cross the Senate.

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

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter protecting felony justice, privateness issues and data safety for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com