Superyacht Amadea/lurssen.comThe US authorities are looking around the world for the expensive assets of Russian oligarchs, after which they will confiscate them. Thus, there is pressure on the Russian wealthy because of the war that Russia launched against Ukraine.
The United States introduced a number of sanctions against Russian oligarchs, among which was Suleiman Kerimov. They suggest the confiscation of their property. First of all, we are talking about expensive assets, including yachts. For this, the US Department of Justice even has a special task force called KleptoCapture. It is she who is engaged in the search and confiscation of the assets of Russians who fell under sanctions and are trying to hide their property.
How Kerimov tried to hide his yacht
April 12, the Amadea yacht arrived in the port of Lotoki in Fiji. On April 14, the Fiji police detained a superyacht and her crew due to the fact that the yacht entered the exclusive economic zone of Fiji without customs clearance. Amadea arrived in Fiji after an 18-day voyage across the Pacific Ocean from Mexico.
The cost of the yacht is estimated at 325 million dollars. She was launched only in 2017. The length of the yacht is 106 meters.
At the same time, the court issued a restraining order, according to which the superyacht could not leave Fiji until the court considers the US arrest warrant. Fiji authorities have said they are acting at the request of the US under the Fiji Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act.
The US believes the yacht ultimately belongs to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. He is under US and European Union sanctions because of the war against Ukraine.
At the same time, lawyers for the registered owner of the motor yacht Millemarin Investments deny that it ultimately belongs to Kerimov. They told the court that it belonged to another Russian oligarch, Eduard Khudainatov, who was not sanctioned by the former president of the oil giant Rosneft.
However, these statements did not greatly affect the court. The Fiji authorities argued that the court did not need to determine the ownership of the vessel, but only that it was subject to a US money laundering warrant.
The Fiji court ruled that the US could confiscate the Russian superyacht.< /p>
