Fishermen set up their gear across the harbour from the Russian-owned super yacht Amadea, seized in Fiji by American law enforcement, in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. June 17, 2022. Eduard Khudainatov's claim that he owns the 348-foot (106-meter) Amadea is a challenge to the U.S. Department of Justice's push to take permanent ownership of the yacht, which it says is owned by sanctioned Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan, which brought the forfeiture action, declined to comment. In a forfeiture complaint last month, prosecutors said Kerimov bought the Amadea in 2021, and then committed sanctions violations by funneling more than $1 million in maintenance payments through U.S. financial institutions. Should the U.S. government gain control of the Amadea, it would likely be auctioned, with sale proceeds going to Ukraine.

Source: Forbes November 29, 2023 02:34 UTC