The US wants to confiscate a $300 million superyacht from a Russian billionaire and give the money to Ukraine

On October 23, the United States demanded the confiscation of a $300 million superyacht it says is owned by Russian billionaire oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who is under US sanctions, reports Reuters.

Photo: IStock

Fiji authorities seized the 106-metre yacht Amadea under a US warrant in May 2022. Washington then tightened sanctions against people close to Russian President Vladimir Putin to pressure Moscow to end its war against Ukraine.

The complaint, filed Oct. 23 in Manhattan federal court, kicks off a potentially lengthy lawsuit. It would involve the United States seeking ownership of the yacht, moored in San Diego, and then likely auctioning it off and transferring the proceeds to Ukraine.

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According to Forbes magazine, the fortune of Kerimov and his family is $10,7 billion.

He accumulated most of his wealth through his stake in the Russian gold mining company Polyus. Kerimov was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2014 and 2018 in response to Russian actions in Syria and Ukraine. These sanctions deprived Kerimov of access to the US financial system.

Polyus came under sanctions in May 2023. The company said the sanctions were unfounded.

In the complaint, the US Department of Justice said Kerimov bought Amadea in 2021 and then violated US sanctions. He spent more than $1 million in maintenance payments through US financial institutions. Yacht owners will have the opportunity to challenge this requirement in court.

Who is the owner

Lawyers for Amadea's owner, Millemarin Investments, told a Fiji court last year that Amadea was not owned by Kerimov, but by former Rosneft chief Eduard Khudainatov, a Russian oligarch who has not been sanctioned.

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Khudaynatov is not named in the complaint filed on October 23.

U.S. prosecutors said the deal to transfer ownership of Amadea from Millemarin to newly registered Errigan Marine took place on Sept. 14, 2021, and was intended to make it appear as if the yacht was owned by Evgeniy Kochman, president of sanctioned yacht broker Imperial Yachts.

Prosecutors said Kochman was in fact just a "shill."

On October 23, Khudainatov filed a lawsuit against the United States in federal court in San Diego demanding the release of the yacht, according to a copy of the complaint provided by his lawyer Adam Ford.

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“Amadea was seized on false grounds for political reasons,” Ford said in a statement.

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