Fijian law enforcement executed a seizure warrant freezing the Motor Yacht Amadea (the Amadea), a 348-foot luxury vessel owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov.
According to the United states department of justice, Fijian law enforcement, with the support and assistance of the FBI, acted pursuant to a legal assistance request from America, following the issuance of a seizure warrant from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which found that the Amadea is subject to forfeiture based on probable cause of violations of U.S. law, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), money laundering and conspiracy.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said it had designated Kerimov as part of a group of Russian oligarchs who profit from the Russian government through corruption and its malign activity around the globe, including the occupation of Crimea.
In sanctioning Kerimov, the Treasury Department also cited Kerimov as an official of the Government of the Russian Federation and a member of the Russian Federation Counsel.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, “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,”
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco also waded into the issue, saying “Last month, I warned that the department had its eyes on every yacht purchased with dirty money. This yacht seizure should tell every corrupt Russian oligarch that they cannot hide – not even in the remotest part of the world. We will use every means of enforcing the sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war in Ukraine.”
Some other American top officials have also commented on their readiness to pursue any sanctions against Russia and Russian oligarchs to exert America’s might.
