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

Fiji's Excessive Court on Tuesday ruled that a large Russian-owned yacht may be seized by U.S. authorities.

American and Fijian officials 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 US, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

But an legal professional who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, mentioned it's not owned by Kerimov. As a substitute, 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 couldn't be reached for comment. The corporate intends to enchantment Tuesday's decision.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, according to native experiences and the maritime analytics website Marine 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 stop the ship from leaving.

The Division of Justice couldn't immediately be reached for remark. 

On April 4, the company 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 passed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to promote the yacht and different properties price more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs with a purpose to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden supports the invoice, which has yet to cross the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxury properties and other ill-begotten positive factors," Biden mentioned on April 28 on the White House.

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