UPDATE, MAY 8, 2022: The High Court in Suva yesterday granted an interim stay of arrest by the registered owner’s representative, Millemarin Investments. Amadea remains without permission to move, however, and she is officially in Fijian officials’ custody. The U.S. warrant remains valid, although without execution. The High Court should release its final decision on May 12.
UPDATE, MAY 6, 2022: Fijian law enforcement executed a seizure warrant for Amadea, with the FBI’s assistance (below). The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released documents yesterday revealing details about Suleiman Kerimov’s ownership and activities. An FBI affidavit reveals that Kerimov landed on the U.S. sanctions list in April 2018. The sanctions were due to being among those benefitting from Vladimir Putin’s regime and playing a key role in its activities in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. While under sanctions, it continues, Kerimov directly and indirectly made U.S. dollar transactions for Amadea through American financial institutions, without a license. The documents also state he conspired with others to make these transactions. Additionally, a heavily redacted section indicates that Suleiman is likely the owner despite Millemarin Investment becoming the owner of record in August 2021. Furthermore, the arrest of Amadea is part of the DOJ’s intent to have Amadea forfeited.
Read on for our original article.
Fiji’s High Court has approved a request by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to carry out the arrest of Amadea. The person the DOJ says is the owner is under U.S. sanctions. Notably, though, that owner’s identity is up for debate. The court therefore has given representatives of the registered owning company time to file a stay order.
The 348-foot (106.1-meter) Amadea, a Lürssen delivery from 2017, arrived in Lautoka, Fiji on April 12. This followed an 18-day voyage on her own from Mexico. Soon after her arrival, police questioned her captain about how she entered the country without customs clearance. Due to COVID, Fiji requires arriving yachts to apply for health clearances before departing a prior destination. Additionally, the yacht must submit these and other documents at least three days before arriving. Police alleged no one submitted the proper documents. Although the yacht’s agent insisted everything was in order, the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service issued the captain two infringement notices. Specifically, the notices were failure to comply with arrival procedure s and failure to comply with disembarking procedures. The former carries a fine or prison term, while the second carries a fine.
While this was going on, DOJ officials were in contact with local authorities. They requested Fiji’s Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) detain Amadea until the finalization of an arrest warrant. The DOJ alleges that her owner is Suleiman Kerimov. Kerimov holds a significant stake in Russia’s biggest gold producer through a family trust. He also attended a meeting with President Vladimir Putin with several other executives in February when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began. Kerimov was sanctioned in 2018 by the United States for allegations of money laundering, following his purchase of French villas. Further sanctions stem from the invasion of Ukraine, with the European Union and United Kingdom issuing sanctions similarly. Ultimately, the High Court in Fiji ordered Amadea’s detention on April 20, pending the U.S. warrant.
The debate over the ownership arose last week. A lawyer appearing in Fiji on behalf of the registered owner insists that the yacht does not belong to Kerimov. Rather, that lawyer, Faizal Hanif, informed the High Court that the registered owner is Millemarin Investments, a Cayman Island firm. Hanif further stated that the ultimate beneficial owner is Eduard Khudainatov. Khudainatov formerly headed Rosneft, the state-controlled Russian energy company. Furthermore, he isn’t on any international sanctions lists stemming from the invasion.
On a related note, the Italian newspaper La Stampa says it uncovered evidence that Khudainatov owns Scheherazade, which has been in Marina di Carrara, Italy since last year. The U.S. government, meanwhile, maintains that Scheherazade belongs to Putin. Furthermore, the Anti-Corruption Foundation, aligned with jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, obtained evidence that many among that yacht’s crew are employees of the Russian government agency assigned to guarding Putin. Italian authorities continue investigating Scheherazade.
Hanif is expected to file a stay order before Friday, when the judge will decide whether to continue keeping Amadea under detention.
This is the second superyacht arrest by the U.S. government related to the Ukraine invasion. Tango was the first, taking place last month.
Leave a Reply