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

Fiji's High Courtroom on Tuesday ruled that a huge Russian-owned yacht can be seized by U.S. authorities.

American and Fijian officers 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 corporate the $325 million ship is registered to, said it is not owned by Kerimov. As a substitute, he argued in court that company paperwork traces the ship's ownership to Eduard Khudainatov, a former executive 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 appeal Tuesday's resolution.

The Amadea berthed in Fiji on April 13, in keeping with native stories and the maritime analytics website Marine Visitors. Soon after, a federal decide authorized a warrant for the ship to be seized and on April 19, Fiji's high prosecutor moved to stop the ship from leaving.

The Department of Justice could not instantly be reached for remark. 

On April 4, the company announced 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.

Laws passed by the House of Representatives on April 27 would allow the U.S. to sell the yacht and different properties price greater than $2 million seized from Russian oligarchs in order to fund the Ukrainian battle effort. President Joe Biden helps the bill, which has but to pass the Senate.

"We will seize their yachts, their luxurious houses and different ill-begotten positive aspects," Biden stated on April 28 on the White House.

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