A yacht seized last month from Russian Oligarch Suleiman Kerimov arrived in San Diego after weeks of overseas travel, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday.
The 348-foot Motor Yacht Amadea arrived in San Diego bay Monday morning after traveling nearly 5,000 miles from Fiji. Federal officials say the Amadea, International Maritime Organization number 1012531, is believed to be worth approximately $300 million or more.
It is unclear how long the luxury vessel will remain in San Diego, but federal officials say it eventually plans to sell it off.
The DOJ announced that Fijian law enforcement seized the luxury vessel on May 5 with the support and assistance of the FBI following a warrant from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Amaeda was found subject to forfeiture based on “probable cause of violations and U.S. law, including the Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), money laundering, and conspiracy.
“This ruling should make clear that there is no hiding place for the assets of individuals who violate U.S. laws. And there is no hiding place for the assets of criminals who enable the Russian regime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland
The U.S.Tresury Department’s office of Foreign Assets Control designated Kerimov as a part of a group of Russian oligarchs who profited from the Russian government through corruption and its malign activity across the globe. Federal officials said Kerimov is an official in the Government of the Russian Federation and a member of the Russian Federation Council who acquired the Amadea thorough shell companies after his designation.
According to court documents, Kerimov and those acting on his behalf routed U.S. dollar transactions through U.S. financial institutions to support and maintain the Amadea.
The seizure was a part of the Justice Department’s Task Force KleptoCapture, an interagency law enforcement task force that enforces sweeping sanctions, export controls, and economic countermeasures imposed in response to Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine.
The United States won a legal battle on June 7 to seize the Russian-owned superyacht in Fiji, the Associated Press reported.
“The successful seizure and transport of Amadea would not have been possible without extraordinary cooperation from our foreign partners in the global effort to enforce U.S. sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine,” the Justice Department said.
