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

Fiji's High Court docket on Tuesday dominated that a large Russian-owned yacht might 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 USA, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

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

Kerimov and Khudainatov could not be reached for remark. The company intends to attraction Tuesday's resolution.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, based on native reports and the maritime analytics web site Marine Visitors. Soon after, a federal choose authorized a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's prime prosecutor moved to prevent 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 one other Russian yacht, the $90 million Tango, which was owned by Viktor Vekselberg, the proprietor of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Legislation handed by the House 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 as a way to fund the Ukrainian battle effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has yet to pass the Senate.

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

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