Seized Russian-owned yacht finally sets sail from Fiji under U.S. control
Source: CBS News
The Amadea, a Russian-owned superyacht, set sail from Fiji Tuesday bearing a U.S. flag, ending weeks of legal and administrative hurdles that had stalled American efforts to seize the $300 million vessel it says is owned by a sanctioned oligarch.
U.S. Justice Department officials had been stymied by a frenzied legal effort by the Amadea's owner to contest the American seizure warrant, and a yacht crew that refused to sail for the U.S.
Fiji's Supreme Court ultimately weighed in Tuesday, clearing the U.S. to take the 348-foot ship. The Amadea boasts luxury features such as a helipad, a mosaic-tiled pool, a lobster tank and a pizza oven, nestled in a décor of "delicate marble and stones" and "precious woods and delicate silk fabrics," according to court documents.
The ship was targeted by the Justice Department's Kleptocapture task force, a team devoted to seizing the luxury assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs, as part of U.S. efforts to punish Russia for its deadly war in Ukraine. Legislation supported by President Biden that has passed the House of Representatives, but not the Senate, would allow the U.S. to sell the Amadea and direct the proceeds toward the Ukraine war and recovery effort.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/seized-russian-owned-yacht-finally-sets-sail-from-fiji-under-us-control/ar-AAYbp8u
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Chief Justice Kamal Kumar ruled that based on the evidence, the chances of defense lawyers mounting an appeal that the top court would hear were “nil to very slim.”
Chief Justice Kumar said he accepted arguments that keeping the superyacht berthed in Fiji at Lautoka harbor was “costing the Fijian government dearly.”
“The fact that U.S. authorities have undertaken to pay costs incurred by the Fijian government is totally irrelevant,” the judge found. He said the Amadea “sailed into Fiji waters without any permit and most probably to evade prosecution by the United States of America.”
The U.S. removed the motorized vessel within an hour or two of the court’s ruling, possibly to ensure the yacht didn’t get entangled in any further legal action.
Anthony Coley, a spokesman for the U.S. Justice Department, said on Twitter that the superyacht had set sail for the U.S. under a new flag, and that American authorities were grateful to police and prosecutors in Fiji “whose perseverance and dedication to the rule of law made this action possible.”
- more at link -
(link) https://www.post-gazette.com/news/world/2022/06/07/US-wins-case-to-seize-Russian-superyacht-in-Fiji-sails-away/stories/202206070119
As of today it's sailing under a US flag.
Thank you Fiji!
