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

Fiji's High Courtroom on Tuesday dominated that a huge Russian-owned yacht could 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 US, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

However an attorney who represents Millemarin Investments, the company the $325 million ship is registered to, said it isn't 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 comment. The corporate intends to attraction Tuesday's decision.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in response to native experiences and the maritime analytics web site Marine Site visitors. Soon after, a federal decide accredited a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to stop 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 one other Russian yacht, the $90 million Tango, which was owned by Viktor Vekselberg, the proprietor of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

Legislation passed by the Home of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to promote the yacht and other properties worth greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs to be able to fund the Ukrainian war effort. President Joe Biden supports the bill, which has but to pass the Senate.

"We're going to seize their yachts, their luxury houses and different ill-begotten positive factors," Biden said on April 28 on the White Home.

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