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

Fiji's High Court on Tuesday ruled that a massive Russian-owned yacht can 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 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. 

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

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

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, based on native stories and the maritime analytics web site 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 prevent the ship from leaving.

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

On April 4, the company announced 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.

Laws handed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties value more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs in an effort to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has yet to cross the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxury houses and other ill-begotten good points," Biden mentioned on April 28 at the White House.

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter overlaying prison justice, privateness points and data safety for CBS Information Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com