Russian Owner Claims US is Seizing $300 Million Yacht from Incorrect Owner
The US is seeking to force the sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov to forfeit a $300 million superyacht.
The 348-foot (106-meter) luxury ship Amadea already was seized in Fiji last year at the request of the US government, which on Monday asked a federal judge in New York to formerly transfer its ownership. The Justice Department claims Kerimov routed hundreds of thousands of dollars for maintenance, fuel and fees for the yacht through US financial institutions in violation of sanctions.
The legal filing Monday is the latest move by a US Justice Department task force targeting assets, including yachts, planes and luxury real estate of wealthy Russians sanctioned in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
The task force has evidence showing Kerimov’s “clear interest in the Amadea and the repeated misuse of the US financial system to support and maintain the yacht for his benefit,” task force co-director Michael Khoo said in a statement announcing the move.
Amadea, which features six decks and a helipad, has spent months docked in US custody, after it was sailed from Fiji to Honolulu and on to San Diego. Fijian authorities seized the boat at the request of the US. The cost of maintaining the yacht and keeping it docked runs into the millions of dollars per year.
The Justice Department claims Kerimov used a series of shell company transactions to hide his ownership of Amadea.
Kerimov, 57, is worth $7.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He built his wealth by making major bets on Russian companies across a variety of industries after the fall of the Soviet Union. The DOJ alleges he benefited from the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin and “played a key role in advancing Russia’s malign activities.”
His fortune was said to be worth as much as $18 billion at its peak, although he lost much of that in the market crash that followed the 2008 financial crisis. The majority of his wealth today is derived from the proceeds of his investments in Polyus, Russia’s biggest gold producer, and other Russia-based holdings.
The case is US v. M/Y Amadea, 23-cv-09304, US District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Source: Bloomberg