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

Fiji's High Court docket on Tuesday ruled that a huge Russian-owned yacht could 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 the United States, 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 that corporate paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

Kerimov and Khudainatov couldn't be reached for comment. The company intends to enchantment Tuesday's choice.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in accordance with local studies and the maritime analytics web site Marine Visitors. Soon after, a federal decide accepted a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to prevent the ship from leaving.

The Division of Justice could not immediately be reached for comment. 

On April 4, the company 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.

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

"We will seize their yachts, their luxurious properties and different ill-begotten good points," Biden mentioned on April 28 on the White Home.

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