Fijian Authorities Seize Russian Oligarch’s $300 Million Superyacht

Fijian authorities have reportedly seized a superyacht worth $300 million. It is owned by the sanctioned oligarch of Russia named Suleiman Kerimov. The information was shared by the Department of Justice on Thursday.

The move to confiscate a motor yacht named Amadea in Fiji, comes through as Western governments strengthen their efforts to identify, track, and seize assets worldwide that belong to sanctioned elites of Russia, especially those who maintain close ties with the Kremlin.

The Biden administration in March announced its newly launched task force, KleptoCapture, to enforce sweeping the US and allied sanctions levied on Russia’s elites who have helped finance Putin’s war in Ukraine.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, had earlier sanctioned Kerimov, to be precise in 2018. At that time, the Treasury had reported that Kerimov was a Russian oligarch who had made a significant profit from the Russian government via means of corruption and illegal annexation of Crimea. It further added that the billionaire was an official in Russia’s government.

The Justice Department has observed that Kerimov’s yacht has an interior layout that can sleep almost 16 guests in 8 cabins. It is also equipped with a next-gen helipad.

German authorities had said last month that they were able to seize the largest superyacht in the world after confirming officially that the vessel was linked to Alisher Usmanov, a well-known business tycoon and billionaire of Russia.

On 14 April, an official from Germany reported to CNBC that the yacht was linked to Usmanov and hence was seized. Germany’s federal police informed the European authorities located in Brussels the day before that an end-to-end investigation was able to find out that the vessel was owned by Gulbakhor Ismailova, Usmanov’s sister.

Authorities of Germany had initially restricted the stunning superyacht from leaving anchorage on 3 March, per the information shared by a senior Biden administration member with knowledge on this matter.

The 500-feet yacht, Dilbar, named after Usmanov’s mother, boasts the largest swimming pool to have ever been installed indoors on any private vessel. It also has two helipads. The Treasury Department estimates that it would be worth about $735 million.

Reference: hamodia.com