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| Luxury Yacht Worth USD300 million Belongs to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov US confiscated |
International Military - The United States confiscated a luxury yacht (superyacht) worth USD 300 million belonging to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. The cruise ship, named Amadea, was initially seized by Fijian authorities last month at the request of US authorities while in the islands.
Amadea has now arrived in Hawaii, according to Refinitiv Eikon ship tracking data. The US Justice Department's KleptoCapture task force has focused on seizing yachts and other luxury assets from the Russian oligarchs in a bid to pressure President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine.
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The 106 meter (350 ft) long cruise ship left the port of Lautoka in Fiji last week after the Pacific island nation's Supreme Court ruled Amadea had to leave the country because it was expensive for the government to maintain.
Data from Refinitiv, quoted by Reuters on Monday (20/6/2022), shows the ship was moored in Honolulu on Thursday afternoon last week. Amadea arrived in Fiji, where he was seized, on April 13 after an 18-day journey from Mexico.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a written statement that the luxury cruise ship turned off its automated information system on February 24, soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, as part of efforts to avoid confiscation. Russia called its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation".
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However, Ukraine and its Western allies consider it an unprovoked invasion. Lawyers for Amadea's owner, Cayman Islands-registered Millemarin Investment Ltd, told a Fijian court that Amadea was not owned by Kerimov but by another unsanctioned Russian oligarch, namely the former head of Rosneft; Eduard Khudainatov.
The United States accuses Kerimov of being the true owner of Amadea, but much of the evidence in the April 13 seizure warrant was edited out in the publicly released version. Kerimov was sanctioned by the United States in 2014 and 2018 in response to Russia's actions in Syria and Ukraine.
He has also been sanctioned by the European Union. Amadea previously sailed under the Cayman Islands flag, according to the public shipping database Equasis. Refinitiv Eikon data shows the ship arrived in Hawaii flying the US flag.
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