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

Fiji's Excessive Courtroom on Tuesday dominated that a massive Russian-owned yacht may 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 United States, United Kingdom and European Union in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

However an legal professional who represents Millemarin Investments, the corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, mentioned it is not owned by Kerimov. As an alternative, he argued in courtroom that corporate paperwork traces the ship's possession to Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive at Russia's state-owned Rosneft oil company who has not been sanctioned. 

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

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, according to local experiences and the maritime analytics web site Marine Traffic. Soon after, a federal choose permitted a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's top prosecutor moved to prevent 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 one other Russian yacht, the $90 million Tango, which was owned by Viktor Vekselberg, the owner of the Russian conglomerate Renova Group.

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

"We will seize their yachts, their luxurious houses and different ill-begotten gains," Biden mentioned on April 28 at the White House.

Graham Kates is an investigative reporter overlaying felony justice, privateness points and data security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com