The US government said it spends more than $7 million a year to maintain a superyacht confiscated from Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov and urged the court to allow the vessel to be auctioned until the ownership dispute is resolved. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
Details
Fijian authorities confiscated Kerimov's 106-meter yacht Amadea in the spring of 2022. The vessel allegedly belongs to Kerimov, but the former executive director of the Russian state oil company Rosneft, Eduard Khudainatov, said last November that he was the owner of the yacht.
In a court filing on February 9, federal prosecutors in Manhattan told U.S. District Judge Dale Ho that the average monthly bill for the maintenance of the Amadea yacht of $600,000 was "excessive," justifying an auction. They added that negotiations to have Khudaynatov pay for the yacht's maintenance were unsuccessful,
Khudaytanov denies the U.S. government's efforts to auction the yacht. He claims ownership of the vessel and says it cannot be confiscated because it has not been sanctioned.
Addendum
As reported, in May 2022, the Fijian authorities, as part of the fight against sanctions violations, confiscated the superyacht of Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov worth $300 million at the request of the United States. In November 2023, prosecutors said that Khudainatov was being used as a front owner to conceal the real owner of the yacht, and that Kerimov owned the yacht through a number of shell companies.
If the U.S. government gains control of Amadea, it will likely be sold at auction, with the proceeds going to Ukraine.
Recall
A Croatian court has ruled to transfer to Ukraine the Royal Romance vessel, which currently belongs to Ukrainian MP Viktor Medvedchuk.