The FBI exported the superyacht Amadea of the Russian oligarch Kerimov to the USA/US Department of Justice
Western sanctions are chasing Russians around the world. Now, the yacht of a Russian businessman has been damaged.
For months, American police tracked the 106-meter yacht Amadea, associated with the oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. In April, the yacht arrived in Fiji, where they wanted to seize it, and the owner of the boat began to sue to stop this.
The oligarch's arguments were rejected
Kerimov argued that the order was contrary to the local legislation of the Pacific Island. But the Fiji Supreme Court rejected this argument and ordered the yacht seized. At the same time, he noted that her berth in the port of Lautoka “cost the local government dearly.”
US authorities in their statement claimed that the cost of the boat was $300 million, which is £238 million. According to the judge, for the common good, it would be better to take the boat. The ship sailed into Fiji waters “without any permission and most likely to avoid prosecution by the United States.”
The ship's registered owners protection team, Millemarin Investments, argued that the boat was not Kerimov's property. It allegedly belongs to another Russian businessman who is not threatened by sanctions.
What they say about this in the USA
US authorities maintain that Mr. Kerimov still has a beneficial connection to the boat. Almost immediately from the beginning of the war, they tried to hide the yacht and turned off the automated tracking system.
US authorities first imposed sanctions on Kerimov in 2018 due to a number of money laundering allegations. Since that time, the Russian has been sanctioned by other countries, including the EU bloc after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Fiji's prosecutor's director said the court's decision to seize the yacht showed his country's commitment to foreign aid requests and international law. The FBI removed the Amadea superyacht to the US after the court upheld the warrant.
“The court recognized the validity of the US warrant and agreed that money and property laundering issues should be resolved in a court of primary jurisdiction” – said Christopher Pride.
Sanctions against Russia
- Western countries and Ukraine imposed sanctions against the aggressor. Each time they become more painful. For example, in the 6th package, a partial embargo on Russian oil was introduced. In Ukraine, the assets of the company, which was owned by people close to Vladimir Putin, were under arrest. This became possible thanks to the actions of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Kyiv prosecutor's office.
- In addition, large companies and brands are leaving Russia. In particular, IBM has ceased operations in Russia. The initiators of this, they say in the company's management, were the employees themselves. Now Russian users cannot get to the official IBM portal. Instead, they open the text “This content is not accessible.” The same situation is with the pages of the Russian division of the company in social networks.
- Restrictions are also being introduced against Belarus, which became an accomplice to the invasion of Ukraine. Japan recently added two Russian banks and one Belarusian bank to the list of sanctions. That is, Belarus is subject to the same strong restrictions, while its economy is much weaker to withstand it.
