The United States won a legal battle on Tuesday to seize a Russian-owned superyacht in Fiji and wasted no time in taking command of the $325 million vessel.
Highlights
- Fiji’s Supreme Court lifts a stay order preventing the U.S.
- from seizing the superyacht Amadea.
- The Justice Department 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.
- The 348-foot -long vessel features a live lobster tank, a hand-painted piano, a swimming pool and a large helipad.
- The FBI has linked the $325 million vessel to the Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who is accused of money laundering.
- The ship became a target of Task Force KleptoCapture in March to seize the assets of Russian oligarchs.