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

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

American and Fijian officers claim 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 legal professional 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 courtroom that company paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former govt at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov could not be reached for remark. The company intends to attraction Tuesday's determination.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in accordance with native stories and the maritime analytics web site Marine Traffic. Soon after, a federal choose accepted 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 couldn't immediately be reached for remark. 

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 owner of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Legislation passed 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 in order to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has yet to pass the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxury properties and different ill-begotten gains," Biden mentioned on April 28 at the White Home.

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