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

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

American and Fijian officers 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. 

However an attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, stated it is not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in court that corporate paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former govt at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

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

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in keeping with native stories and the maritime analytics website Marine Site visitors. Soon after, a federal judge 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 could not immediately 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 owner of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Legislation passed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to promote the yacht and other properties value more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs in order to fund the Ukrainian battle effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has yet to move the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxurious homes and different ill-begotten gains," Biden stated on April 28 on the White House.

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter protecting prison justice, privacy points and knowledge security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com