US v. M/Y Amadea, 23-cv-09304, US District Court, Southern District of New York.
The 106-meter motor yacht Amadea was seized in May 2022 while docked in Fiji after her owner, Suleiman Kerimov, was placed under the U.S. sanctions list due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Kerimov’s third time becoming a designated person in the US.
The yacht was transferred to the USA from Fiji in June 2022, where it resides today. However this past month, the treasury department revealed that the maintenance costs of the yacht amount to 600,000 USD a month, totaling over 7 million USD annually, a burden the department is struggling to keep up with. Therefore, the US Marshalls Service is urging the judge to grant permission for the auctioning of the yacht, a court case reveals. The filing went on to add “The carrying costs for the Amadea are far from modest, and there is good cause to spare the Government and the public from bearing these costs.” According to Reuters, should the government succeed in her sale, the proceeds will towards those affected in Ukraine.
As the story developed, Mr. Kerimov came in violation of the sanctions by obtaining over 1 million USD in running cost fees for the yacht by way of the US. the financial system, Because of this, Amadea is now subject to forfeiture. To add more confusion to the mix, another Russian oligarch, Eduard Khudainatov, claims to be the proprietor of the yacht. Mr. Khudainatov, who is under no sanctions by the US, is taking steps to take ownership of the self-proclaimed Amadea. Mr. Khudainatov was given a deadline of February 23 by the prosecutor to respond to the request. No update has been given since.