UPDATE, JUNE 26, 2022: Amadea has arrived in San Diego. Several days prior, she was in Honolulu, her first stop following her transpacific journey. While no timetable yet exists for her auction, the U.S. government has conveyed a desire to sell assets seized from Russians as swiftly as possible. Regardless, court proceedings in seizure cases, including attempts to halt a sale, can take years.
Read on for our original article.
After weeks of legal wrangling, the superyacht Amadea is officially in the hands of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Today, Amadea has departed Fiji with the cooperation of that country’s government.
Anthony Coley, the DOJ’s director of public affairs, shared photos and details on Twitter. “With authorization from the Fijian High Court and under a new flag, the Amadea set sail for the United States after having been seized as the proceeds of criminal evasion of U.S. sanctions against Russian oligarch Suleyman Kerimov,” he posted. He further posted, ‘The United States is deeply grateful to the Fijian police and prosecutors whose perseverance and dedication to the rule of law made this action possible.”
Amadea has departed Fiji following legal wrangling dating back to April 20. Fiji’s High Court ordered the detention of Amadea, pending a U.S. warrant. The DOJ claimed then, as now, that her owner is Kerimov. Initially, U.S. sanctions applied to him in 2018 over money-laundering allegations. Further sanctions stem from the invasion of Ukraine. On May 3, Fiji’s High Court approved a DOJ request to arrest the yacht. A lawyer representing the registered owning company, however, filed an appeal. He asserted that the ultimate beneficial owner is Eduard Khudainatov. Khudainatov formerly headed Russia’s state-controlled oil and gas company and isn’t under sanctions. Additionally, the lawyer claimed the United States had no jurisdiction in arresting the 248-footer (106.1-meter) under Fiji’s mutual-assistance laws until a court determined her true owner. Ultimately, on May 27, Fiji’s Court of Appeals dismissed his request to prevent the DOJ from proceeding.
The lawyer filed yet another motion, though, with Fiji’s Supreme Court, requesting a delay. The court dismissed his application today. Furthermore, the court ordered the yacht to depart, since she “was costing the Fijian Government dearly,” the judgment states, also noting she arrived “without any permit and most probably to evade prosecution by the United States.” Amadea arrived in Fiji on April 12, after an 18-day voyage from Mexico. She entered Fiji without customs clearance, however, and officials served the captain with infringement notices for arrival and disembarking procedures. The Fijian government had been absorbing the cost for Amadea while she remained under detention.
Christopher Pryde, the country’s director of public prosecutions, issued a statement, saying, “The decision acknowledges Fiji’s commitment to respecting international mutual assistance requests and Fiji’s international obligations.” Furthermore, he indicated, “The court accepted the validity of the U.S. warrant and agreed that issues concerning money laundering and ownership need to be decided in the court of original jurisdiction, in this case, the U.S. District Court of Columbia.”
Amadea has departed Fiji with U.S. authorities placing and paying for crewmembers.
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