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

Fiji's High Courtroom on Tuesday dominated that a massive Russian-owned yacht could 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 constructed 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. 

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

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

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in line with native studies and the maritime analytics web site Marine Visitors. Quickly after, a federal choose accredited a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's top prosecutor moved to forestall the ship from leaving.

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

On April 4, the agency introduced 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.

Laws handed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would enable the U.S. to promote the yacht and different properties worth more than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs to be able to fund the Ukrainian warfare effort. President Joe Biden helps the invoice, which has but to cross the Senate.

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

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